Searching
by Wren Gebel
Summary: When Hermione visits her favorite muggle cafe in London she never expects to run into Draco Malfoy for the first time in three or four years and he has some information that Hermione desperately needs. Together they embark on an adventure and Hermione starts to feel a little different about the man who mocked her all those years. Chapter 20 is up now, have a great read!
1. Unexpected Encounters

I walked into my favorite cafe in London. It was a muggle cafe but I didn't mind. It was beautiful. There were flower boxes filled with flowers under the large window in the front and trees with fairy lights in them where on either side of the building. Normally I loved to sit outside under the striped parasols on the white metal tables, but today it was raining and the cloth of the parasols would do no good to keep the rain from me.

I stepped inside the yellow lit cafe. It was warm and busy and all the tables were filled with people. I walked to the counter to order my coffee. A Latino woman in a light pick apron came to take my order. When she was finished she handed me the warm cup and I went to find a seat. All the tables were occupied but I found a booth that only had one occupant, an old man reading the paper.

"Do you mind?" I asked him gesturing to the seat across from him. All he did was look up at me quickly before returning to his paper. I sat down anyway and took a sip of my coffee. As I reached into my bag to take out my book I saw him glance at me again.

He folded up his paper and chugged the rest of his coffee. Grunting, he stood up and shuffled out of the seat. _Good._ I thought. I liked sitting alone anyway.

I opened my book and buried my head inside it as I took another sip of coffee.

I had become so engrossed in my book I forgot to drink more of my coffee and it soon turned cold. It wasn't until I heard someone talking to me that I remembered where I even was.

"May I sit here?" Someone was asking, a young adult male's voice.

"Of coarse" I said. I pried my eyes from my book to see who was about to sit across from me. My eyes met light gray eyes. I froze. I knew those eyes. I knew that pale face and white hair. I thought back to my years at Hogwarts, three, four years ago? I remembered that same face laughing at me and making fun of me. What was he doing in a muggle cafe? I never thought I would see him of all people here.

Even in that moment when he sat down, I could see in his eyes that he was recognizing me now too. We both were frozen. Afraid to move or speak. My book slipped out of my hand and landed on the table in a bang.

"Granger?" He said in disbelief.

"Malfoy" I blurted. "I... uh... I have to go" I said and started packing my book away. I reached for my coffee glass but before I could grab the handle, his hand grabbed mine.

"No. Stay" He said. I jerked my hand out of his like I'd been stung by a bee. I reached for my glass again. "Granger" He persisted. "Hermione" I looked at him in shock. I've never heard him say my first name before. It sounded odd. I wasn't sure if I liked it. I could tell by the look on his face that he had forced himself to say it. "Stay. Really" He said.

Was this some kind of trap? Was he about to mock me in some way? I grabbed my mug but all I did was raise it to my lips and take a sip of cold coffee. I eyed him suspiciously. He was wearing a white button up and a black tie. His hair was combed back but some strands where falling into his pale and creamy face. Honestly, he looked good. I mentally slapped myself. What was I thinking? Draco Malfoy? Look good? I couldn't think this. This man was the cause of most of my pain at Hogwarts.

He took a drink of coffee and looked at me over the brim of his mug. I didn't like him looking at me. I tried to avoid his eyes but they were so piercing.

"So, how are you?" He asked hesitantly. I didn't want him to make small talk with me

"Fine" I said, not sure how I should answer. Did he really even care? It was quiet. I glanced at him again. He was still staring at me. Was he waiting for me to ask him how he was? Well he was going to wait awhile because no way was I going to ask Malfoy how he was. Absolutely no-

"And you?" I asked. I mentally slapped myself again.

"All right, I guess" He leaned back in the booth. I could see his lean muscles through his shirt. I tore my eyes away. "What have you been doing since Hogwarts?" He asked, sounding generally interested.

I glanced at him again. His eyes where still on me. What was he doing? _Stop it. _I thought. _Don't answer him. Just tell him you have to go and leave._

"I work at the Ministry" I said.

He leaned forward. "Really?" He sounded shocked. _Here it comes. The mocking. Granger works at the Ministry? What a know-it-all. What a nerd._ "I do too!" I looked at him shocked.

"You- you do?" I asked.

"Yes! I can't believe I've never seen you there before!" He laughed. I've never heard him laugh like that before. It was different. I almost liked it. "That's amazing! What do you do?"

"I work in the department of wizarding studies. I research and write reports for the Minister" I looked for the familiar mocking look in his face but I only saw a friendly smile. Why was he doing this? What was causing him to act so strange. It was preposterous! He was being so _nice_.

"Wow!" He said running a hand through his albino hair. "That's only a couple floors down from where I work! I can't believe we've never run into each other!"

_Don't ask him what he does. Do not ask him what he does!_

"What do _you_ do?" He seemed glad that I asked him.

"I'm an auror!" He smiled. Seriously? Malfoy an auror? I had always thought he would do something with potions or dark magic. I never thought he would be _fighting_ the dark arts. I must have looked shocked because he laughed again. "Is it really _that_ hard to believe, Granger?

I smiled weakly. It felt so odd to be sitting here like this with him. And without him making fun of me at all, actually being nice to me. I felt uneasy. Something had to be up. The Draco Malfoy I knew would never do this. Was this really him? Should I be afraid? Or had he changed in the four years since Hogwarts?

He leaned back again. I think he could tell how uncomfortable I felt talking to him like this. He took a sip of his coffee and looked away from me for once.

"What about Harry and Ron? How are they?" I never expected this question. First he cared about how I was doing now he cared about Ron and Harry?

"They're fine I guess"

He raised his eyebrows. "You guess?"

"Well I haven't seen Ron in a while" I explained "I just know what I've heard from Ginny"

"You two aren't a thing anymore?" He asked surprised.

I looked at him suspiciously. "No" Ron and I had called it off a couple of years back. We had realized that we felt more like siblings than lovers and it got weird being together since then. I wished we could find some way to spend more time together, like real siblings, but he was always 'busy' when I asked. Ginny and I stayed friends though. She was the sister I never had.

"Wow" Malfoy said. "I'm sorry. I always thought you two would make it"

"It's alright" I said feeling a little awkward talking about Ron and me with Malfoy

"Do you and Harry still get along? I see him occasionally in the department at work but we never talk much." Harry was big in the auror department. He had talked before about becoming head auror in a couple years.

"I see him on occasion" I said

I realized that my answers to Malfoy were short and rather snippy. I felt a little bad since he was being so friendly to me. But then I remembered how he was in school and the way he treated me then, and I didn't feel so bad any more.

We sat in silence for a while. I figured Malfoy must have run out of things to ask. I gulped down the remainder of my cold coffee. I turned to the side and pretended to check the clock on the far wall, even though it was too far way to see.

"I think I better be off" I said, trying again to get away from him. He only nodded this time as I gathered my bag and mug. I stood and shuffled out of the seat and walked past him.

"Hermione" I jumped at him using my first name again. I turned to face him. "This was okay" He said. "I mean..." He wrung his hands together. Was he shaking? Was he nervous to be talking to _me?_ "...I'd like to bump into you like this again" He said, his voice shaking. What was this? I didn't like it. "If that's okay" he added hurriedly.

I really didn't know what to say. Was this Malfoy asking me on a date? I was repulsed by the idea. At least I think I was.

"Maybe we will" I said. "Sometime" I hurried away before he could say more. I slammed my cup on the counter and ran out of the cafe. The rain outside had stopped but it was growing dark. I marched to the ally across from the cafe and made sure no one was around. I turned to look back at the cafe. Malfoy was looking at me through the window we had been seated at. I aperated.

**A/N: I apologize for this being such a short chapter, but if you enjoyed this (even a little because it gets better) please follow and favorite and review the story because there will be more if enough of you like it! Reviews motivate me so the more you comment the faster I put up the next chapter! :)**


	2. An Eye on the Enemy

**A/N:** Thank you so much for favoriting, following, and reviewing the last chapter! I am glad you enjoyed it!

**Your reviews help a lot!**: please continue to review! Your comments help me improve and I appreciate that! But let me tell you now, I am an absolute horrible speller! I rely on spell check for most of my spelling errors! If I have the wrong word in somewhere it's probably because spell check told me it was spelled that way. :) Please forgive me!

**If you are an artist and you would like to see your fanart as the cover for this story, email your fanart to me (my email is on my page) and as long as it is appropriate to the story, I may select it! You can email me as many covers as you want, but they must be different and they must be owned by you!**

**Let me explain: **Draco is a bit out of character but you have to remember that this is four years after the war at Hogwarts. If you remember from the books and moves, toward the end, Draco really did not want to fight for the dark side anymore but he was forced upon it. I won't go as far as to answer your question: 'has Draco really changed?' but just keep these things in mind as you read this chapter and more chapters to come!

**Pay attention:** I give some info. in this chapter that is very important for future chapters so I advise that you pay attention :)

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**An Eye on the Enemy**

This was the fifth day I'd walked by the cafe. Each day he had been sitting there, in the same spot looking out the window. Every day I'd walk strait by, making sure he hadn't seen me. But today I really wished he wasn't there. I was starting to crave some coffee.

If he was, perhaps I could sneak past and quickly grab a coffee from the counter and sit outside, or in the back with my face in a book again. I had come close to doing this yesterday. But I was too afraid he'd see me, and even more afraid he'd think I came for him.

I looked at the cafe's window from across the street. It was glowing yellow and warm as usual. But today it was different. Malfoy wasn't there. To my surprise, I felt a little disappointed that he'd given up. It had kind of made me feel good to see him there and think that perhaps he was waiting for me. _God, Hermione!_ I thought. _Get over it! You hate him, remember? _Yes. I hated Malfoy. And he hated me. But ever since the day we bumped into each other, I couldn't help but think that maybe he didn't hate me anymore. That maybe he had really changed and was no longer the loathsome cockroach I remembered him being. Either way, I couldn't shake the horrible memories I had because of him. The nights I spent crying in the commonroom was because of him. My lack of positive self image, was because of him. The only reason I dreaded going back to Hogwarts was because of him.

I quickly crossed the street, eager for some coffee. Opening the door with a jingle, I scanned the strangers in the room making sure none of them where Malfoy. He wasn't among them. My shoulders sank. Was I really feeling disappointed? Absolutely not! It was _Malfoy_ for heavens sake!

I walked to the wood counter and ordered my usual, a caramel cappuccino with whipped cream. I grabbed the mug and hurried to sit down in an empty chair in the back of the cafe. Sitting down I took a sip of my coffee. It burnt my tong but it was still delicious. I reached into my canvas bag and pulled out my book. This was one of my absolute favorite things to do, read and drink coffee. I opened to the bookmarked page, took another sip, and began reading.

Since learning that Malfoy worked at the Ministry five days ago, I had been coming into work early, leaving late, and trying to stay in my office as much as I could to avoid running into him. I thanked my lucky stars at the end of each day that he hadn't decided to stop by my department and have a chat.

Yesterday I met Ginny for brunch in a cute little diner in Diagon Ally. I had to tell someone about my encounter with Malfoy and Ginny was the only one I could trust.

"So you know that little muggle cafe I like in London?" I asked her.

"Yea, what about it?" She took a bite of her toasted egg sandwich. I took a deep breath. Could I even tell _her?_

"Well, I ran into someone from school there the other day" I said looking at her carefully. She didn't seem to be paying much attention. She took a swig of orange juice and another bite of her sandwich.

"At a muggle cafe?" She asked. "Who was it? Did they recognize you?" She glanced at me for a moment and then kept eating.

"Yes" I said still looking carefully at her "We had a chat"

She smirked at me. "Ooo" She cooed. "Was it a boy?!" I had her attention now but I wasn't sure if I wanted it anymore. Her smile was contagious, I couldn't help but smirk too and look down at my food I started playing with. She gasped. "It was wasn't it! Go one then! Spill it! Who was it!"

I looked at her, wide smile stretching across her face. "You remember Draco Malfoy?" I asked quietly.

"Oo!" She squealed. "Was it one of his gorgeous mates? That Blaise was smoldering!"

"No" I said. Her smile faded "It was Draco Malfoy" She frowned at me. I started to regret telling her this.

"_Malfoy?!_" She gasped in shock "You like _Malfoy?" _

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I did _not_ say I liked Malfoy!" I raised my hands defensively. "I just said I _saw_ him!"

"And talked to him!" She gasped at me, her sky blue eyes big and her mouth wide.

"Ginny!" I exclaimed. "It meant nothing! I could never like Malfoy! You know how he treated me at Hogwarts!"

"Yea, but he talked to you! Willingly!" She pressed. "So he must have changed, right?"

I sat back and took a bite of my parfait. "Ginny, I'm done" I told her, wishing she would drop it.

"So you _do _like him" She said getting excited again.

"I said I was done" I held up my hand to tell her I was through with talking about this.

She bounced up and down in her seat, sending her carrot hair flying. "You two can have a forbidden romance! Like Romeo and Juliet!"

I opened my mouth to protest and deny what she was saying but she hushed me. She grabbed her purse and stood up.

"Well, I have to go" She said. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me!" She winked and held a finger to her lips as she walked away before I could say anything else.

_Yep. _I thought. _Defenitly a wrong idea to tell Ginny. _I should have expected it though. Once she thought someone liked someone else, she just wouldn't drop it! And she always went way beyond just talking about it. She would make up romantic stories about the two and fantasize what their love letters would be like. Back at Hogwarts, when she found out that Nevil had a crush on Luna, she would trap him in the commonroom and force him to talk about 'the love letters he was going to write to her'. The poor bloke! But I could only expect the same treatment the next time I saw her and I felt sorry for _myself!_

* * *

I took a swig of coffee as I started a new chapter in my book. I heard the bell on the door to the cafe ring as someone entered. I lowered the book just enough to peer over the edge at who ever it was. My heart stopped. It was him. He glanced at the booth we had sat at the first day and ran his long pale fingers through his hair. Walking to the counter, I saw him surveying the rest on the room. I shrank down in my seat and covered my face with my book as his eyes wandered in my direction.

I could hardly breath as I thought for sure he would recognize me. I counted to five, hoping by then he would have looked away. And then I counted to five again, just to be sure.

I peaked, just barely, around my book. He was taking his coffee from the woman behind the counter. How could he be so calm around all these muggles? He'd never been able to even stand mudbloods or halfbloods but here he was, surrounded by muggles, and he seemed okay with it. He even smiled a thank you to the muggle woman at the counter.

I watched him walk to the same booth with long and smooth strides. He sat down and took out a leather notebook and a quill. Was Malfoy fond of writing? It was odd to me to think that perhaps he liked something calm. I had always thought he was more the action type, Quidditch and such.

Bringing his mug to his mouth, he pursed his lips lightly and blew, making the rising steam disappear. He carefully took a sip and then set the mug delicately back on the table. For some reason I found these simple actions memorizing and I was unable to look away. Was it out of fear that he would notice me when I wasn't looking? Or was it something else?

I should get back to my book. I wanted to get back to my book. But I couldn't. Instead I watched him scribble away in his notebook and I couldn't help but wonder what he was writing. A novel? A journal? Was it perhaps for work?

Again I thought about how odd it was that he was an Auror. Had something in the last four years change him so much that he wanted to leave the dark forces and actually fight against them? What where his parents thinking? Surly they had to be disappointed. I couldn't imagine what my parents would do if I went against everything they believed in. Then again, I wouldn't know. I hadn't been able to find my parents yet after the war. I visited their house as soon as it was over, but when I knocked on the door, a young couple answered.

"May we help you?" They asked eyeing me up and down, probably wondering why a young woman would walk up to a stranger's door by herself.

I was shocked at first that my parents had moved, and I didn't know what to say to this young couple. All I could do was explain to them that I had lost contact with my parents a few years back and that I was looking for them.

"They used to live here" I explained.

They looked at me blankly. The man cleared his throat.

"Do you have any idea where the previous owners where moving to?" I continued. I was hoping they would mention some where close or somewhere I would remember.

"I'm afraid not." The woman answered.

My shoulders sank as they closed the door firmly.

I asked every house on the street if they knew where the previous owners of that house had gone. They all looked at me strange and shook their heads. The older lady across the street named Judy Heder was finally kind enough to tell me that they had moved quickly and hadn't even waited for the house to sell before they where gone.

"It was odd" She said "They just up and moved one day"

My first thought was thought was that they were captured by Deatheaters and probably killed after Voldemort's fall. I spent weeks hiding in my room in the small apartment I shared with a kind witch named Analiza. I was so depressed I couldn't function. Nothing was interesting to me. I didn't eat, I hardly slept, I called in sick to work almost every day.

After about two years, and no sign of my parents, Harry assured me that they most likely were not captured by Deatheaters. He told me that they would have killed them by now and the wizarding world had never found any bodies to justify that they were dead.

My depression eased up after I realized what he said was probably true. But it still pained me to think that they were out there, somewhere, and they had no idea that their daughter was looking for them. They had no idea that I even existed.

* * *

Malfoy looked up from his scribbling and out the window like he was thinking. He rested his chin in his hand and took a drink of coffee. How could I find these ordinary acts so fascinating? He looked back down at his notebook and started writing again. A few pieces of snowy hair fell down in his face and he ran his hand through his hair to get them to stay in place, but they fell right back down again. Even this I found interesting.

I started to wonder how long I'd been sitting here watching him. Ten minutes? An hour? They sky outside was a deep blue and the first twinkling of stars were starting to appear. I could tell it would be a lovely and clear night. I thought should probably get home soon but I couldn't leave yet. I couldn't decide if I was too afraid to leave because he would see me or if I was to afraid to leave because I wouldn't see him.

Either way I was going to get to leave soon. Malfoy began packing up his things and scooting out of the seat. I hid behind my book as he returned his mug to the counter and I didn't look up until I heard the bell on the door ding. I watched him through the glass on the door. He took a left and walked calmly down the sidewalk until he was out of view.

"Excuse me miss" I looked up to see the woman from behind the counter standing by my table.

"Yes?" I said. She had a pleasant smile on her face and a folded piece of paper in her hand.

She extended the hand that held the paper toward me. "I was asked to give this to you"

I looked at her confused and carefully took the paper from her.

"Thank you?" I said, unsure of what to think exactly.

She went back to her spot behind the counter.

I looked down at the paper in my hands. It was folded neatly with care. All the edges lined up perfectly. I took it by the corners and pealed it open with shaking hands. I gasped quietly. In my hands I held a letter signed: _Draco__ Malfoy_


	3. Analiza

**A/N: **I am so sorry it took me so long to post this chapter, but I appreciate your patience. Please understand that I have been very busy studying for finals and working and everything else! And I debated whether or not I should post this chapter at all! In the end I obviously decided to post it but it may seem like it is swaying from the story line a bit, however this chapter will give you a great deal of information on Analiza, Hermoine's room mate. (Analiza is not in any of the Harry Potter books, she is a character I made up for the purpose of this story.)

Again, I realize that these characters may be a little out of character, but in some cases they need to be because they will be put into environments they have never been in before. Also, please realize that I am basing the characters' personalities mainly off of their personalities in the _books_, not the movies. If you have read the last Harry Potter book, you may remember that after the battle at Hogwarts is over, the Malfoys do not run away, but stay in the castle. Just keep this in mind if you feel like Draco, in previous chapters and chapters to come, acts a little different.

Please continue to favorite and comment on this story! I love hearing your feedback! It keeps me motivated to write more, the more you comment, the faster I write!

With love,

Wren Gebel

**P.S.** If anyone is still interested in having their Dramione fanart as the cover for this story, shoot me an email of it! My email is on my profile! You can send me as many as you want, but they must all be different and they must all be yours!

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**Analiza**

Without reading the letter I quickly folded it back up and put it in my bag. I slammed my mug on the counter and hurried out of the cafe. I felt nauseated. He knew I was there the whole time! I ran across the street and into the the dark ally. I wasted no time checking for surrounding muggles before I aparated.

I appeared outside my apartment building. I ran up the stairs to floor three, eager to get to my room for some privacy. Just as I opened the wood door to the familiar smell of vanilla I loved to have burning, Analiza grabbed me.

"Great!" She said, a dimpled smile spreading across her face. "You're home! Get ready!" She pushed me through the small living area and toward my bedroom.

"For what?" I said confused and in no mood for games.

"We're going out!"

That's when I noticed that she was wearing a short pink dress and had on giant heals. Her long black hair was down to her rear in glitter and black eyeliner fancily outlined her green apple eyes.

"No," I said shaking my head and pulling my arm from her grip. "I can't."

"'Moine!" She whined. "I haven't gone out for ages!"

"So go by yourself." I opened the door to my bedroom. It wasn't that I didn't like going out with Analiza, it was just the places she like to go to. By the way she was dressed I could tell she wasn't planning on heading to the library.

"I can't go to the club by myself!" She exclaimed, following me to my room. "You're my wing-man!"

I rolled my eyes. I hardly thought she needed a wing-man. When she goes to clubs she drinks, a lot. And when she drinks she gets really talkative and 'friendly'.

"I just don't feel like going tonight." I got out a towel and my silky purple robe to take a shower. Truth be told, I never felt like going to the club, but tonight I was stressed out by the letter in my bag and I didn't want to have to worry about something else, like Analiza stealing alcohol from the bar right in front of me. Yes it's happened.

Analiza was a nice enough person and a great friend, but she was a little crazy. She did everything. She'd been to every bar, drank every alcoholic beverage, snogged every guy who approached her, you name it. But for all the things she would do, there are three things she would never do: Refuse a dare, take no for an answer, and leave her friends. Maybe that's why I put up with her so much, because I knew she wouldn't betray me.

"Pleeeeaaase!" She begged, following me to the bathroom.

I sighed. Like I said, she never takes no for an answer.

"Ana, I can't! Besides, I don't even have anything to wear." The closest thing I had to party clothes were black pencil skirts for work and I doubted she'd let me go out in that.

Analiza smiled. "Well then, it's a good thing you have me right?" She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward her room. She opened the door to an absolute pigsty.

"Ew!" I said looking at all the dirty laundry on her floor. Her bed was buried in clothes and trash along with dirty dishes I'd been looking for. "Where do you sleep?" I asked dumbfounded.

She huffed at me and took out her wand. Waving it, the dirty clothes floated to her hamper, the dishes went out of the room and toward the kitchen and the bed fixed it's self with deep purple blankets.

"Is that better?" She asked sarcastically.

"A little." I said.

She threw open her closet doors to a colourful wad of clothing. She had so many clothes, it seemed it was all she spent her money on. Analiza currently waited tables at The Leakey Cauldron, which didn't bring in much. After I arm-wrestled her share of the rent from her, I hadn't the foggiest where the rest was going.

"Absolutely not!" I exclaimed as she pulled out a teeny-tiny black dress.

"What?!" She asked looking at the dress, clearly unable to see what was wrong. "It's cute!"

"On a five-year-old maybe. If you're going to force me to go out with you, I'm wearing something I'm comfortable in!" I huffed and crossed my arms

"Hermione, I don't have granny clothes." She teased.

"I do not wear granny clothes!" I protested.

She rummaged around in the closet and threw out clothes and onto the bed so she could look better. Her sleeping space started to look just the same as it had before.

"Here, try this on." She threw a yellow dress at me.

I held the dress by the hanger at arms length in front of me. It was a light lacy yellow. It was sleeveless but it had a modest neckline. And it didn't look _that_ short.

"Fine." I walked to the bathroom and slipped into the dress. Checking myself out in the mirror I noticed that the bottom rested a quite a bit above my knee. It was a little short for my liking, but it was okay.

"You let her sway you again, didn't you?" I asked myself in the mirror. _Maybe I could use a night out_. I thought. I'd been pretty stressed after seeing Malfoy at the cafe for the first time, and I couldn't keep from thinking about it. _Why had he been there? Why was he so nice? Why was he so different from what I remembered?_

I swiped on some red lipstick and rouge on my cheeks. I used my wand to fasten my hair into smoother curls that bounced like springs when I shook my head.

There was a knock on the door. "'Moine? Are you done yet? Le'me see!"

I sighed as I turned to open the door.

Analiza gasped. "You look stunning!" She said happily. "Here, try these." She thrust a pair of silver heals my direction.

"Nope." I said throwing them back at her.

I hated heals. They were highly uncomfortable and accident prone. Flats were much better, more comfortable and less likely you would trip over your own feet and fall down a flight of stairs.

"I knew you would say that!" She said as she made a pair of white flats fly out of her room with her wand. "Here you are your majesty." She handed them to me. "Now can we go?"

"I just need to grab my book." I ran to my room and grabbed my book from my bag. The letter from Malfoy fell out and landed on the white sheets on my bed. I stopped and stared at it. I really wanted to open it. I really wanted to see what he said. But at the same time I really didn't. I reached for it and held it in front of me. Should I even look at it at all? Maybe I should wait until I have more time to read it, when I didn't have Analiza in the living area waiting for me to grab my book and come out. I held the corners and opened one fold. I took a deep breath. _I can do this._ I thought.

"'Moine, lets go!"

_Just not right now_. I dropped the paper back in my bag, grabbed my book and hurried out.

"I can't believe you have to bring that!" Analiza said pointing to the book in my arms.

She hated it when I brought a book because all I did was sit in a corner and read while she got friendly with the boys at the bar.

"Come on." She grabbed my arm. "Lets go confuse the muggles with our magic!"

Before I could tell her exactly how illegal that was, she was rushing me out of our apartment and down the stairs. As soon as she barged out of the door at the front of the building she aparated, dragging me along.

We appeared in an Alleyway next to a muggle bar simply called, Brain's Pub. The name was lit up on the front of the building in neon red lights. There was a deep repeating low bass that turned into actual music when some opened the door. Which happened quite a bit as it seemed to be a pretty popular pub. I group of girls in tiny dresses and high heels entered the bar in front of us as we walked around front. As the door closed I caught a whiff of smoke and alcohol which made me choke and cough.

"Ana, I can't go in there." I said between raspy coughs.

"Yes you can." She said. "You get used to the smell." She grabbed my arm and reached for the door again.

I started coughing again, but this time I did it on purpose. I started to feel like I really couldn't do this. I just wanted to be alone for some reason. Maybe it was because I really did hate pubs. Maybe it was because I was at a really good part in my book and I just wanted to read it in privacy. Maybe it was because I really wanted to do something with that note. I could feel it burning inside my bag all the way at the apartment. I couldn't get it out of my head! What was written inside? Should I just cut it to tiny pieces and burn it before the fateful words written inside destroyed my life for good?

Analiza patted me on the back. "Okay," She said. "I'll make a deal with you."

I looked up at her. Was I off the hook? Could I just go home without upsetting her?

"We can go home,"

I stopped coughing and just stared at her. Really?

"_If,_"

Ah, the dreaded 'if'

"You come inside while I have just one drink from the bar. Please." She added.

I rolled my eyes. Still, it was better than nothing. I still just wanted to go home, but I didn't want to upset Analiza. It was true, I hadn't gone out with her in a while and she was such a good friend, I felt like I owed her something. Maybe this was it.

I nodded. "Okay."

She smiled and opened the door to the crowed place. Again the smells hit me like a violent wave, but I tried to ignore them so that Analiza could have a fair time. She strutted inside and headed strait to the bar on the opposite wall. I turned to the right, looking for a table or booth on the wall. I saw what looked like an empty booth through the crowed of noisy people in front of me. I hugged my book to my chest and shimmied through the drunken bodies that were talking loudly and dancing oddly until I made it through the treacherous sea of people.

I jogged to the booth and sat heavily before anyone else could. I set my book on the table and looked at my surroundings, instinctively looking for exits in case something went wrong. I had gotten used to doing this during Harry, Ron, and my's search for the horcroxes. We had too many close calls and eventually we learned that knowing where the exits are saves you time and energy when something goes wrong. It had become a habit.

I watched Analiza slowly start to emerge through the haze of smoke and fog in the room. She had two tall glasses of bubbly gold in her hands. Making her way over, she nearly spilled them weaving around people and making angry faces at them behind their backs.

"Here you go." She said setting one in front of me and taking the seat opposite me.

"No thanks" I said pushing the glass away.

"No thanks?" She goggled at me. "Do you even realize how hard it was for me to get that?" She asked jokingly.

I laughed. Then it occurred to me. How did she get the drinks? She had no muggle money and we were at a muggle bar.

"Ana?"

"Ya?" She said taking a gulp of beer.

"You didn't steal these did you?"

She laughed. "Of course not!" She exclaimed like I had asked the stupidest answer in the world.

"Really?" I asked, testing her. "Because, you don't have muggle money."

"I have my ways." She said slyly over the rim of her glass.

Then it dawned on me. She did have her ways... of stealing from me.

"Ana! I've told you a hundred times, you can't steal from me! I need that money for when I shop for my muggle things!" I exclaimed.

"Hermione, it's not stealing if I give it back."

"And how do you plan on giving me back _muggle_ money when you have a _wizard_ job?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows at her because I knew she had no idea how she was going to do just that.

She opened her mouth to defend herself, but before she could get a word out, a muscular man in a red tee shirt and jeans sauntered over to our table.

"Hello, ladies." He said, a beer in his hand.

I looked at Analiza and rolled my eyes as she giggled. I grabbed my book and stuck my nose in it, very aware that that was rude, but I hardly cared. I wasn't in the mood to flirt with some wide-eyed, handsome muggle man who was probably highly intoxicated and wouldn't remember anything the next morning.

I vaguely noticed as he sat in the seat next to Analiza and took the drink that was meant for me. I hardly realized what was going on in my book either. I still couldn't get my mind off that stupid letter. Every time I thought about it, my stomach tied in knots. I wanted to get home and open it so bad, but I was so afraid that what was written inside would ruin my life. I was afraid it would changed the way I felt about and looked at things. But I was afraid that by not opening it I would go insane.

I tried to imagine all the possible things that could be written inside. I wondered if this really was Malfoy or if someone had gotten their hands on pollyjuice potion. I tried to imagine what had happened to Malfoy, if it really was him, that would make him act so differently.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I had to stop thinking about this, it was driving me crazy. I peeked over my book at Analiza and her brown-eyed company. He was staring at her in amazement as she made her glass float into the air with her wand that was probably in her lap or under the table. I glanced around the rest of the pub nervously, making sure that no one was paying too much attention to her magic show. It always made me nervous when she did this. I mean, it is funny to watch the muggles' confused faces as they try to figure out just how you set fire to that piece of paper in your hand or how you could refill a glass of water without even touching it, but it's so dangerous. That's probably why Analiza loves doing it.

I looked back to the pages of my book. The words were a little hard to see in the dim light of the pub, I had to really bury my face in it to see what it said. I became thankful for this a couple of minutes later, when I realized that Analiza and that man were locking lips across the table. I blushed with embarrassment because I felt like a little kid spying on her older sister and her boyfriend.

I decided to wait them out and then ask Analiza if it was okay if we went home now. But they were really going at it. The smell of smoke and alcohol hung heavy around my nose and mouth again and it started burning my lungs. I could hear them snogging even over the noise in the pub. I let out a heavy sigh, trying to rid my lungs of the stench, and slammed my book shut. Analiza managed to tear herself away from the brunet man to glance at me and see that 'one drink' was long over.

"I've got to go." She pecked the man on the lips a last time and scooted past him out of the booth.

"Can I have your number?" He stood up.

"I don't have a phone." She said.

He seemed dumbfounded, like he thought it was impossible for someone to _not_ have a mobile.

"Okay?" He frowned. "Will I ever see you again?"

I glanced at Analiza, fully aware of what she was about to do. She smirked at me and flashed me her wand inside her purse.

"Oh ya!" She said smiling at him. "You'll see me."

He suddenly snapped upright and stood stock still for a moment, like he was extremely frightened and had no idea what was going on.

"But you won't recognize me." Analiza smirked.

The man looked at her. "I'm sorry." He said. "Who are you?" He looked around, quite puzzled.

* * *

We left him there, to wonder who he was just talking to. When we got out of the pub and into the dark ally beside it, Analiza turned to me.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

I glanced at her. "What do you mean?" I said.

"Hermione, we live together! I can tell when something is bothering you!" Her eyes wrestled fiercely with mine.

I looked away to the dirty dumpster behind her. No way could I tell her about Malfoy. I shook my head. "I'm fine." I said, trying to look like I really was fine.

She looked away from me. It was quiet for a moment. I could hear the repeating bass of the music in the pub and the soft laughter of party-goers inside. The air was crisp and fresh, like it always was on a early autumn night.

Analiza spoke again. "Whatever it is." She looked at me again. "I think you should do it. You'll regret it if you don't"

I looked at her shocked. Was it possible that she already knew? No way! How could she?

Before I could say anymore, she aparated. Her sudden absence made me realize that I had been holding my breath. I let it out in a whoosh of air and covered my face in my hands.

I stood there and thought about what Analiza said for a while before I really realized what she meant. Thinking back to the letter, eating it's way out of my bag, I came to a decision. I'm not sure if Analiza made me realize what I should do, or if I had came up with my decision on my own, or if I already knew what I should do. Whatever way, I knew now. I knew what I was going to do with the letter. I was going to burn it. I'll regret it if I don't.


	4. The Letter

**A/N: **Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews on chapter three! Please keep it up!

I've just been waiting to write this chapter for so long that I wrote it so fast so here is a new chapter already! I know it's short, but I think you'll like it! (better let me know for sure in a review! ;) )

This explains a lot about Draco's changed behavior toward Hermione so hopefully it will clear up any questions about that! If you do still have questions feel free to pm me or write it in a review. I will try to answer either in the story or the A/N.

**Update:**not a new chapter, just an update, sorry for any confusion. Just wanted to tell you that I created a poll on my page about Draco's POV. Please vote on whether or not you would like a chapter in this story to be in Draco's POV. You can vote on whether you would like it to be in first or third person as well. Thank you and continue reviewing you wonderful people!

With Love,

Wren Gebel

NOW! WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I GIVE YOU:

* * *

**The Letter**

I pointed my wand at the letter, ready to set it aflame. I was in my room. The sun was shining lazily through the white lace drapes on my window. It made my room look warm and cozy. On my side table, my alarm clock ticked softly, but the apartment was silent so it seemed to ring out louder than usual.

I took a deep breath in and held it for a while. I could do this. This was my decision. I had even decided to sleep on it last night when I got home from Analiza's and my pub adventure. When I woke up this morning my decision remained the same, I am going to burn that letter.

I furrowed my brow and stiffened my grip on my wand. The letter was lying folded on my bed. It looked so innocent there, beautiful almost. But I lost sight of the beauty when I remembered who it was from. I turned over the spell in my mind that would engulf the letter in flames. When had I learned that spell? I couldn't really remember. I could only remember of practicing it over and over all night until I got it just right. The spell made me feel powerful. I could destroy with that spell._  
_

I felt a wave of heat rush through my chest like m heart was on fire. The spell was on the tip of my tongue when suddenly, I stopped. I dropped my wand on the floor and lunged at the letter. I don't know what made me stop, but all of a sudden I felt like I _needed_ to know what was written. Something suddenly told me that it was important to know what it said.

I was tired of swinging from wanting to destroy the letter to wanting to read every line of it. I wanted to stop swinging now. I wanted to stop over thinking things and just do it already! I ripped it open before I could think about it any more.

His hand writing was curvy and neat. His capital letters had large arches and he had taken the time to enchant the swirls around the letters to move and swim around each other. I breathed in. There was no going back now. Whatever I read on this paper I could never forget. I knew it was doomed to change my life, for the better or worse.

As much as I wanted to rush through the letter and just read what Malfoy had to say, I took my time and carefully scanned the words. I frowned as I read over the first few sentences, but by the end I was crying. I thrust the letter at the ground, but it just floated lightly to the carpet.I put my face in my hands and sobbed there for a while. I never believed I would get so worked up over a stupid letter!

I ground the heels of my hands into my eyes until they felt sore and raw with tears. I looked down through my eyelashes at my wand on the floor and the letter beside it. I bent over and grabbed my wand, careful to not reread anything in the letter again. I was right. I would never forget what I had read, I just didn't want to read it again. Not now.

I stood up and looked around for my bag. It was draped on the desk chair next to the window like a body tired of waiting. I ran to it and snatched it up. Slamming the door behind me, I left my room and fast walked out of the apartment and out the door at the front of the building. Once I was outside, determined on where I was going, I aparated. I didn't like where I was going. In fact, I hated it. But I had to go. And it was all because of Draco Malfoy and his letter.

This is what it said:

_Hermione,_

_I know you hate me, and I can't blame you for it. Every time you look at me I see in your eyes the pain I've caused you. I know it won't help to take away what has already happened, but I wanted you to know that I never really loathed you, I only thought I did because I was taught to despise you and people like you. I don't _hate _you. I don't _hate _mudbloods. I don't _hate _muggles. My father does. There is no easy way to explain this and I know it won't make it better. My father taught me to hate people like you. I was terrified of my father yet I still looked up to him. I wanted to believe everything he said and do everything he wanted me to so that maybe one day he would see me and he would love me like a father should. That day never came._

_I am so sorry of what I made you go through so that I could impress my sorry excuse for a father. I knew I was hurting you then, but when I look back on it now it makes me tremble to remember even half of what I've done. There is no excuse great enough, this I know. _

_Again, I am so sorry for what I have done. I do not expect you to forgive me, I can hardly forgive myself and I hate myself every day for what I did to you. I only hope that you will know that I am truly and deeply sorry. I know that no matter what I do, I can never do enough to make it right. But in order to at least attempt to I ask that you allow me to help you._

_I know that you obliviated your parents before the battle at Hogwarts to protect them, and I know that you still haven't found them yet. I also believe that they loved you, although I don't have much experience with love, and I believe you still love them. I can't stand it knowing that you are going through even more pain now that may have still been caused by me. Please, it would be an honor if you let me help you take away that pain and find them. It would help me forgive myself knowing that I at least tried to take away some of the pain. Please let me help you._

_I will wait for you at the cafe, everyday if I have to. Just please, let me help you. I'm so sorry._

_- **Draco Malfoy**_


	5. All Things Muggle

**A/N: **Here it is! Chapter five! I'm getting pretty excited with this story! Little more Draco and Hermione happening in this one!

Thank you so much for your wonderful comments! I love reading them so keep them coming! Tell me what you think! Or just say hi! I don't care! :)

So I created a poll on my page that I would love if you did. It just asks whether or not you would like to see a chapter in this story to be in Draco's point of view. If you are a guest or if you are too lazy to log in you can just leave your choice in the comments! The choices are (and you can pick two): No, please keep the story in Hermione's point of view only. Yes, one chapter would be fine. Yes, I would like to see multiple chapters this way. Yes, but keep it in first person. Yes but keep it in third person.

Okay! Please enjoy!

* * *

**All Things Muggle**

The cafe was buzzing like it normally did on Saturday mornings. The silver bell on the door constantly jingled as hurried muggles walked in and out. I walked quickly across the busy street from the alley to the sidewalk just in front of the cafe. I glanced at the window but Draco Malfoy wasn't sitting there. I wondered if he was just somewhere else in the cafe or if he didn't get here this early.

I waited for a man in a tan jacket to step out before I slid inside. I walked strait to the seat by the window without ordering coffee. I felt disoriented and scared. I hadn't even remembered my book, which was something that did not happen often.

My hands shook. I tried to steady them by sitting on them, but then my legs started bouncing which shook the whole table and made the metal napkin holder ring. I picked at my purple nail polish and fiddled with a fray in my jeans, anything to keep my mind calm. I watched the red and purple leaves fall from the trees on either side of the building. They twisted and danced across the sidewalk in the wind.

What was I going to say when Malfoy showed up? Hi? I hate you? I can't stand to be in your presence? I want to punch you in the face again like I did in third year? Help? In my head I went over possible ways the conversation could go for ten minutes or so. I didn't pay attention to the beehive around me. I just stared at the grooves in the table and got more and more agitated every second that Malfoy didn't show up. After all, he did say he would be here, and I was, not too happily, taking his offer.

"Excuse me, miss,"

I looked up into the brown eyes of the woman standing over my table. Her hair was long and mousy brown and fell over her shoulders like a blanket. She had on a blue and white striped apron over a black shirt and knee knockers.

"If you don't order anything, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave. We need the space," She had a slight Irish accent which made her sound apologetic even though she looked board.

"I'll have a coffee then," I said, but then I changed my mind. I'd been there long enough and Malfoy seemed to be a no-show. I glanced at the door to make sure he wasn't about to walk in any second. I felt a twinge of anger and disappointment when I realized he wasn't. "Actually, never mind," I slid out of the seat and shimmied out of the crowed cafe and onto the less busy sidewalk.

The wind was crisp but smelled like wet leaves and dirt and pumpkins, the smells of autumn. I walked down the sidewalk to the shop next to the cafe. It was a small drugstore where I sometimes went to by snacks that I still enjoyed from my days before I learned I was a witch.

I loved living a double life like this. I was fond of going to muggle shops and cafes but I still loved living in the wizarding world. Analiza was a half-blood so she'd always grown up living like that and she still liked going to muggle pubs over wizard ones. She understood my need to be around muggles every once in a while.

I pushed open the glass door and picked up a green basket from the pile next to the door. I sauntered down the aisle dropping the occasional bag of crisps into the basket.

I tried to keep my mind from how angry I was at Malfoy, again. I don't think I'd ever not be angry at him, even just a little. I couldn't believe he blew me off like this! It almost made me want to cry. It took everything I had to come down here and see his face. I wouldn't have even gone if I wasn't so desperate to find my parents. But I guess he'd always been a prat so what did I expect?

I walked to a bin in the corner that had a big red sale sign over it and a bunch of DVDs stacked inside. I picked through them to see if there was anything good. It had been a long time since I'd watched a movie. Sometimes Analiza and I would take out the mini telly I had and make fun of movies that had what muggles thought magic was like in them. We invited Ginny over one time, but she had never seen a telly before and she went nuts trying to figure it out how it worked and almost wound up taking it apart

Most of the movies were pretty old, that was probably why they were on sale. I found one with a black background and an old green woman in a witches hat and a long black dress on an old broom. I giggled at it and turned it over to read the description.

"Isn't it odd in here?"

I jumped about ten feet from the voice behind me. Whirling around, I touched my wand in my pocket, ready to whip it out if I needed to. And believe me, when I saw who was standing there, I wanted to.

"What the hell?" I yelled at Malfoy before I could stop myself. "Where were you? I waited forever!"

His eyes got wide and apologetic, but he had the biggest grin on his face which annoyed me even more to see that he was glad I was here. I wanted to slap him.

"What's that?" He said pointing to the DVD in my hand and completely ignoring the question.

"It's a movie." I said tossing it back into the bin.

"What's a movie?" He walked over and picked one out to look at it.

"I'll tell you if you tell my why I sat in a cafe for twenty minutes and you never showed up when you specifically said you would."

"So you read my letter then?" He looked at me with his light gray eyes, but they were shiny enough to be silver.

I looked away. "Of coarse I did!" I exclaimed like I hadn't been about to burn it just thirty minutes ago.

His eyes lit up like a child's when they hand you a scribble on a piece of paper that is suppose to be an elegant drawing of you and you tell them how wonderful it is. "So you know how sorry I am?" He dropped the DVD he was holding and took a step toward me, his eyes piercing mine the whole time. "You know how I didn't mean it?"

I stepped backward but bumped into the wall behind me. I felt hot, like Malfoy's one step closer made it warmer in the shop.

"Ya, but like you said, I'm not about to forgive you." I said.

He looked down at his shoes, a few white strands of hair falling out of place and into his face. "So you will accept my help then?" He asked hopefully.

"I want to know _how_ you're going to help." I said.

He looked at me again. This time I tried not to look away. I'd never paid much attention to his eyes before, but they were stunning. The silver in them seemed to reflect the light in the room to make them shine and they where sprinkled with flakes of shimmery coal.

"Can I buy you a coffee?" He asked holding up his hands.

I looked at him in disgust. "No!" I said.

He looked down at his shoes again and dropped his hands to his sides in disappointment. "That's okay." He said.

"I'm tired of coffee!" I exclaimed. "I'd much rather go for a sandwich!"

Malfoy looked up, happy. Really happy. Not the kind of happy I'd ever seen in him before.


	6. Help or Harm?

**A/N: **Yay! Chapter six! I would like to thank the one person who was kind enough to comment on the last chapter. I'll say that again: **The one person ** What happened? I get an average of about four comments per chapter but last chapter I only got one! Guys! Let me know what you think! I love your comments! There are so many things you can say! Just tell me what is going through your head when you finish the chapter. Or tell me what I'm doing wrong or right. Or tell me if you have a request! Anything!

Also, still no one has taken the poll so I would appreciate if you would just go do that quick. It's on my page, you just have to click on my name to get there. It just asks if you would like to see a chapter of this in Draco's POV. If you are a guest you can just comment your choice. The options are: Yes, one chapter is fine - No, please keep it in Hermione's POV - Yes, I would like to see multiple chapters this way - Yes, but keep it in first person - Yes, but put it in third person. You can pick two options so please do.

Comment! Favorite! Follow!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**Help or Harm?**

Malfoy took another bite of his hamburger.

"These muggles have some weird food." He said chewing it slowly to really get the taste.

I was sitting across from him at a picnic table in a park. We had ordered sandwiches from a vendor on the other side of the park and stopped at this table to eat them.

"Weird good?" I asked.

He swallowed. "I don't know." He said and took another bite.

I watched his face change as he tasted the meat, buns, vegetables, and sauces all at once. For a second I saw him, eleven year old him. Scared and worried and unsure instead of cocky and mean and hateful. When I looked at his twenty-one year old self I saw fear behind his eyes again, but it was different.

"Why weren't you at the cafe?" I asked, taking a bite of my own burger. "I waited forever!"

"I was." He said between bites. "They kicked me out. So I decided to check out a few muggle stores. See if they had anything interesting."

"That reminds me, how did you pay for these?" I held up my burger.

"Muggle money isn't that hard to come by." He said finishing his sandwich.

I looked at him carefully, hoping he would go on.

He glanced at me and laughed at my puzzled face. "No, I didn't steal it!" He said.

I had thought that maybe he'd pulled an Analiza.

"Muggles drop it all over the place." He continued, smiling.

Seeing him smile like this was weird. It wasn't fake and it wasn't a smirk or a sneer like I'd seen so many times. A real smile looked good on his face and sounded pleasant in his voice.

I chewed the rest of my sandwich slowly and watched a small game of football that had broken out behind Malfoy. My eyes followed a preteen boy in a red sweater as he strategically kicked the ball between the feet of his opponets and made a goal between two trees. I tried to ignore the fact that I knew Malfoy was staring at me, but I could feel my self blushing.

I wiped my mouth on my napkin and crinkled up the paper as I tried to avoid his stare.

"So, how are you going to help me?"

He looked around and leaned forward to rest his arms on the table. This close I could smell his cologne. It smelled like mint and cucumbers and musk. I felt suffocated by it.

"I think I might know where your parents are." He whispered.

"Where?!" I shouted.

His eyes got wide and frightened. "Shhh!" He hushed urgently.

"What?" I said frowning and watching him.

He looked around again and then settled his eyes on mine. "I've been doing some digging in the ministry." He said and glanced around again. Then he leaned in closer and said, "Digging that could get me fired or even put in Azkaban for."

I blinked at him and nodded, not sure what else to do. Malfoy had been risking himself for me? I wasn't sure what to think.

"I found a file that mentioned your parents."

"Are they okay?" I asked getting excited. "What did it say?"

"The file says they're fine. They were witnesses to a fight between two wizards and had to be obliviated." He looked around again.

Obliviated? Again? Would it even work to restore their memories now? I swallowed to keep myself from crying. At least they were alright.

"The report says they were in Australia at the time." He continued.

I sat there for a second and let myself really understand it. I could tell that Malfoy was trying to decide whether or not to say something because he was watching me carefully and would slightly open his mouth only to shut it again.

Australia. I could go to Australia. I could find them there. I started nodding without really meaning to. "Thank you." I said standing up and grabbing my trash. "Thank's for the help."

Malfoy stood up as I started to walk away.

"Granger!" He called, but I kept walking. "Hermione! Where are you going?"

Suddenly he was beside me, jogging to keep up with my fast pace.

"To find my parents." I said. I threw my trash in the green rubbish bin next to the side walk and headed to the alley across from the cafe so I could aparate.

"Wait. Now?" He asked as I crossed the street and he followed.

"Yes, now." I said turning into the Alley and heading for the back. "I appreciate your help. I really do. Thank you, again."

"Hold on." He grabbed my arm so I would stop walking.

He spun me around and I was too shocked to resist. His hand was soft and warm, but I was afraid of it and instinctively pulled away. Goosebumps rose where his hand had been, cold from the sudden lack of warmth.

"I'm not done helping you yet." He said.

"What?" I asked holding my arms across my chest to keep warm. "Was there something else in the file?"

"No. I'm coming with you." He said firmly.

I was dumbfounded. I just looked at him and he looked at me for the longest time. People on the street right outside the alley honked and yelled at each other. Groups and couples walked by. The bell in the cafe could still be heard ringing. And Draco and I stared at each other.

Finally I just said, "I need to pack."

I pulled out my wand and just before I aparated I felt Draco grab my hand. I jumped at it, but I was to far into the aparation to stop.

* * *

We landed just outside my apartment building because the landlord used a charm to keep people from aparating inside. Draco let go of my hand before I could angrily shake it off.

I checked my watch. 10:30. Analiza was probably still asleep and would be for at least about an hour or two. I opened the door and walked up the stairs to my apartment. Draco didn't say anything but I could tell he was following me and I really didn't care.

I unlocked the door quietly so Analiza wouldn't wake up. Draco awkwardly followed me in and shut the door behind him. I went to my room and flicked my wand at my closet, making my suite case fly out and onto my bed. Then I made clothes fly out of my dressers and toiletries from the bathroom into the open bag.

I watched as my things nestled into the suite case and I made sure I wasn't forgetting anything. Malfoy stood slightly behind me and to my left. I didn't turn around to look at him, but I could feel him there.

After my suite case was packed, I shrunk it down to a size small enough to fit in my purse. Then I grabbed my purse and swung it over my head and put the suite case in it.

Suddenly I heard a voice behind me that wasn't Draco's.

"Holy shit!" Analiza stood in the living area right outside the door. She had on tight jeans and a low cut tank top but her hair was a mess and her makeup was smeared. She was gawking between Malfoy and me.

"Great!" I huffed and headed out of the room toward her.

"Mione brought home a guy!" Her speech was slurred and thick like she had a hard time talking.

When I got right up to her and grabbed her arm I could smell alcohol on her breath. I started pulling her to the kitchen.

"Is he your boyfriend? He's hot!" She whispered sending a wave of bad morning breath into my face. Then she looked up at Malfoy and shouted, "Your hot!"

"Ana! Stop!" I hissed at her.

I made her sit down in a chair at the small table under the window in the kitchen.

"Have you been drinking?" I asked.

"Ya." She said. "But that was last night! Or. I think. It was some time that started with a nine." She waved her hands above her.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Okay." I said. "Let's get you back to bed." I heaved her up and wrapped her arm around my shoulder as she started zoning out.

We stumbled to her bedroom and it didn't help that she was wearing heels still. I took out my wand and cleared the bed so there wasn't so many clothes on it. Then I let her flop into it by her self and I took off her heels for her.

"Mione!" She whispered with her eyes closed.

"Ya?" I leaned in so I could hear what she said.

"I love you 'Mione. Your the best." She said.

"I love you too." I said picking a blanket off the ground and tossing it on her.

Then she started crying and whispering about all the people she loved so much and before she could get too worked up, she fell asleep.

I went to the kitchen and left her a note telling her I would be gone and that she shouldn't worry and that she should tell Ginny and Ginny could tell Harry and Harry would figure out a way to get me time off from work. I taped it to the icebox because I knew she would eventually make her way there.

* * *

Once Draco and I were outside again he finally spoke to me.

"Can we go to my apartment to pack my things?" He said.

I didn't look at him and I didn't say anything. If I said yes I would be allowing him to come with me, giving into him. But if I said no it wouldn't matter because he would probably still come with me anyway and I would wind up sounding rude and hateful and mean and I didn't want to be like I remembered him being.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw him sigh and take out his wand. I took a deep breath and shot out my hand without really meaning to. I grabbed his shoulder just before he aparated. I felt his muscles tense and he looked at me in shock. I ignored him and kept looking forward. Then we were gone. What was I doing?


	7. Belgium

**A/N:** So, Chapter 7. Thank you for commenting more on the last chapter! Keep it up! I need more people to do the poll though. I'll leave it open until chapter ten is finished, but if no more people do it I will probably just do one chapter in Draco's POV. So go do that! If you are a guest, see my last announcement for details on how you can vote, I'm tired of writing them every time.

Okay, not too much action in this one until the end, but there are a couple parts that I hope will make you laugh! (Let me know in the reviews!) Hermione and Draco go to Belgium for this chapter so there is some Dutch speaking in this. If you speak Dutch you will get some little inside jokes sprinkled throughout their time in Belgium. (Don't hate me if the grammar is wrong, just PM me with how it is suppose to be and I will fix it for you!) Anyone one else who speaks or can read other languages, don't worry, I hope to incorporate more languages as they travel from country to country.

Okay, that was kind of a lot, but here it is!

Review, Favorite, Follow!

With Love,

Wren Gebel.

* * *

**Belgium**

"We can aparate from London to the tip of Belgium and then we will have to wait at least a day before going any farther or we could get splinched." Draco was bent over the dark brown table in his apartment kitchen and pointing at a map of the world.

I stood behind the island and took in his beautiful home. I knew the Malfoys came from a lot of money, but this was amazing. The cabinets were dark like the table and had fancy curly handles made out of gold. He had an old-fashioned oven in between two counter tops that had many swirls and small details etched into it.

When I walked into the apartment, the first room I saw was the living area. It was dark but had a warm feel to it and shouted 'Malfoy' everywhere. The carpet was a deep red. It was thick and could almost substitute for a bed. The windows had long velvet curtains that were a deep green to contrast the red. A fireplace was on the far wall. It was made of brick and had two black snakes with emeralds in their eyes framing it. Along the walls were clear glass lamps to hold candles that were attached to the wall by an ivory snake with again, emeralds for eyes. A black leather chair was next to the fireplace with a wood end table next to it and a book on top. There was a narrow bookshelf on one wall and a mirror framed with the same snakes over the fireplace.

I nodded when Draco looked up at me with his light silver eyes.

"Then from there we can probable make it to Cologne, Germany." He was saying. "But we can bring the map and figure it out as we go along."

He rolled up the map and put it in his trunk on the floor next to the table. Then he shrunk it down and stuffed it in the pocket of his pants. He walked over to me and stood with just the island separating us.

"Are you ready?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

Was I ready? Was I ready to go find my parents? Was I ready to drop everything right now and leave it behind for however long it takes? And most of all was I ready to do this with Draco Malfoy? But then again, was I ever ready?

I swallowed hard and nodded again.

* * *

Draco and I stood in the alley in front of the cafe. I needed to make a quick stop at the drugstore next to it for toothpaste (and crisps) and Draco grabbed some other muggle food he wanted to try.

"Okay, have everything?" He asked.

"Mhm" I could hardly breath.

He smiled at me reassuringly and held out his arm. I placed my hand on it, and I could hardly keep still from shaking. He took out his wand and with a pop and a particularly long aparation, we were on the sandy shores of Belgium.

Well not exactly. I gasped from the cold water and started shivering. Malfoy had landed us under a dock to avoid being seen and the water was freezing.

"Holy Merlin this is cold!" I yelled running out of the water.

There wasn't many people on the beach and the ones that were didn't seem to be paying attention. Malfoy trudged out of the ocean after me, sopping wet and shivering.

I tried not to look at how his shirt clung to his chest and how I could see his muscles through it. I turned away wondering why I even noticed that and saw a changing room and bathroom up ahead.

"There." I said when Draco was beside me and pointing toward the changing rooms.

* * *

"Hallo! Kan ik u helpen?"

We were in a hotel in Bruges, Belgium and the man behind the counter was happily greeting us. I think.

Draco leaned in a whispered, "Do you speak Dutch?"

I shook my head and sighed. If we couldn't find anyone who spoke English this was going to get a lot harder.

I walked up to the counter. "Hi! Do you speak English?" I asked.

He nodded and stared at me with a huge cheesy smile that told me he had no idea what I was saying.

"I need two rooms." I said holding up two fingers so that hopefully he would get the idea.

"oh ja! Ik heb net de ruimte voor u twee geliefden!" He said waving his hand for us to follow him.

He led us to a lift, that Draco nearly had a heart attack on, and we rode it up to floor five. He walked us down the hall to the third door and took out the room key for it.

"oke, hier is uw kamer, nummer vijf nul drie." He said opening the door.

The room was beautiful. There was a balcony outside the window, lacy white curtains, a large flat screen telly in a detailed entertainment center, and one huge bed right in the middle.

"Wow." I said. "This is beautiful."

"ja, kunt u genieten." The man said and headed toward the lift.

"Wait!" Draco called and followed him to the metallic double doors. "Where's my room?" He asked.

"oh ja, hier." He rumbled around in his pockets and took out a copy of the key and handed it to Draco. Then he walked into the lift and the doors closed.

Draco stood staring at the key in his hand before he realized what that meant. But it took Draco turning around slowly and smiling at me slyly before I got it.

"No." I said and Malfoy started laughing. "No no no no no."

I ran into the room and shut the door behind me.

"Hermione, I have a key!" I head Malfoy's muffled voice outside the door and then the doorknob turned and his head popped in. "It's okay." He said coming into the room. "I'll sleep on the floor."

I crossed my arms and stared at him for a second. His hair was pushed back messily which was different from his usual neat hairdo.

"Fine." I said and took out my suite case from my purse and set it on the side table next to the bed.

He took his out from his pocket and laid it on the side of the entertainment center. He looked at the telly carefully like he was trying to figure out what it was. Then he reached out and pushed one of the buttons right under the screen. The telly turned on and a man from a Belgium news channel popped on.

" Vandaag is er een vrouw was overreden door een nijlpaard." He was saying and looking very serious.

Draco took a step back and watched the screen with interest. "What is it?" He said. He turned around and looked at me with the biggest shocked eyes I've ever seen, and it was more weird seeing it on Draco.

I laughed at his expression. "It's a television." I said. I had no idea how to describe what it was for or why muggles used it, but he didn't ask and instead turned around and stared at the man on the screen.

* * *

An hour later Draco was still staring at the screen and I had just about finished my book. I checked my watch. It was only one in the afternoon and I was getting tired of laying here and listening to Draco gasp at the telly.

I snapped my book shut and said, "I'm board."

Draco turned around to look at me for a second then gazed back at the telly.

"I'm going for a walk." I grabbed my purse and slid off the bed.

"I can come with you." He said.

"No. I'd like to go alone."

He looked at me, probably thinking I would try to aparate away without him.

"Look." I said pointing to my suit case on the side table. "I'm leaving this here."

He nodded and watched me walk out the door.

* * *

I was walking along the river walk when I felt like I was being followed. I turned around slightly and saw two men in black wizard robes. But they were tattered and scary looking. I quickened my pace and looked out for an alley or shop I could duck into. My heart was beating furiously in my throat. In the water I saw the reflection of two black blobs moving in closer. I sprinted across the street and into the alley, but they were right behind me.


	8. A Day In the Woods Not Quite As Lo

**A/N: **Wow! I wrote this chapter fast! But it's partially because some of you commented on the last one so fast! See? When you comment, I update faster! Also because this one was really fun to write and pretty intense.

Keep commenting and Favoriting and following! Also, keep doing the poll! Had a few more people do it and one guest in the comments so yay! So far it looks like I will be doing at least one chapter in Draco's POV so if you don't want that to happen, you better vote NO! Just click on my name to get to my profile and the poll is at the top! Guests, see previous A/N for how you can vote.

**WARNING!** This chapter contains brief periods of torture. Nothing to explicit, but I know that can still make some people uncomfortable. If you are one of those people, and you feel okay with this, you can skim the chapter up to the break and then read from there. If not, you can PM me and I will give you a brief summery of what happened.

Review! Favorite! Follow!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**A Day In the Woods... Not Quite As Lovely As It Sounds**

I stumbled to the ground because my legs couldn't hold me up. I was too focused on the splitting pain in my head to tell my legs to lock into place. My skin felt torn and raw, but I knew it wasn't splinched yet. I closed my eyes and brought my hands to my head, trying to make the ache stop.

The ground felt like dirt and moss. I could smell mud and wet leaves. Birds were chirping far above me and there was the occasional rustle of leaves near by.

What was happening? The pain in my head made it hard to focus and the little sounds made me dizzy. I tried to open my eyes but I was afraid if I did my head would crack open.

I fumbled around for my wand. Hand, pocket, ground. It wasn't there. I felt naked and defenseless, like a wounded animal lying on the ground, waiting to die. I heard heavy footsteps around me, like twenty men in heavy boots were marching in circles.

I brought up my hands to rub my eyes to caress them open. My skin shafted and burned against my shirt. When my eyelids gave in I blinked and looked around, trying to recognize something.

I was in the middle of a deep wood somewhere. Trees as tall as skyscrapers surrounded me and red and purple leaves covered the ground in a carpet. Two men in black wizard robes looked down at me. One was thin as bones and pale as the moon. He looked like he hadn't eaten or slept in days. His hair was thin and long past his shoulders and his eyes were yellow and bloodshot. The other was gruff looking. He was heavier built. He had a mop of black greasy hair that covered his eyes and was plastered to his neck with sweat.

I shot to my feet ignoring the pain in my head and skin. I stood as tall as I could and tried not to look scared or intimidated even though I was. My legs were wide and my muscles were taught. I was ready to fight if I needed to, even though I didn't have my wand.

"What do you want?" I spat at them.

They looked at me broadly like they would rather be anywhere else. The bigger one leaned back against a tree and picked at his fingers. "We want to know where the Malfoy boy is." He said without looking at me.

"Draco?" I whispered. "What do you want with him?" My eyes skipped back and forth between the two in case one decided to do something funny.

"We saw you in London with him." The thin one spoke up. His voice was like his body, thin and sickly. "Just tell us where he is and we'll leave you alone."

I grit my teeth. "What do you want with him?" I repeated slowly.

Behind his hair I could see the big one roll his eyes. "He took something from us. We just want to return the favor. That's all." He said, almost cooing.

What the heck did Malfoy do to these two? What did he take? I shifted my weight.

"I don't know where he is." I lied.

I didn't know why I lied for Malfoy, but I didn't know what else to do.

The bigger wizard was clearly angry now. He stepped away from the tree he was leaned against and reached into his pocket. He took out a wand, my wand, and started twirling it between his fingers.

"Okay." He said, clearly trying to keep calm. "I'm going to ask you again, because I didn't hear you the first time. Where. Is. Malfoy."

I stared at him hard and debated for a second if I should just tell him the truth, but I couldn't do that to Draco.

I lifted my chin and threw out my chest and said slowly and coldly, "I don't know where he is."

He lifted my wand and pointed it at me. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for it.

"Crusio." He said, almost board.

It felt like fire and knives eating at my flesh. It was an ache in the small of my back. I muffled a scream, still trying to show them that they couldn't hurt me, but I felt it rip apart my stomach and I doubled over in pain. I crouched down trying to hide from it, but nothing helped. Finally I let myself fall over on my side. I started crying because I couldn't do anything else but lay there and writhe. My fingernails were being peeled back. My spine was being contorted. My bones were broke and my skin was cut and burned. I couldn't move or think or even scream anymore.

I don't know how long it lasted but it felt like years. The man finally lowered my wand and set it on a large flat rock behind him. He walked over my my shaking body on the ground and crouched down next to me. He leaned in so I could feel his hot sticky breath on the side of my face and whispered, "Where is he?"

He smelled stale and rotten. His breath was thick and I couldn't breath with him this close to my face. I choked on my sobs and tasted my salty tears as they ran down and into my mouth.

In between raspy breaths I answered him. I didn't like what I said. I regretted doing it as soon as the words escaped my mouth. But I just couldn't bring myself to say anything else. "I don't know." I whispered.

Snarling, the man stood up quickly and walked to the thin man who had been watching. They got in close so they could whisper quietly between each other. I thought for one horrifying second about them killing me. With my own wand it could look like a suicide or an accident and no one would ever know. I swallowed and took a deep breath.

From the ground I watched them argue. My vision was blurred and it was hard to make out who was who and what was what. My eyes wandered from them to the rock the big man had set my wand on.

I wondered if I could make it to my wand, let alone stand up. I knew I had to do both fast or they would notice and that would be it. I squinted at the wizards who were occupied arguing about what to do next. I doubted they really believed that I didn't know where Draco was.

I realized I had two options just then. I could stay where I was and be tortured into telling the men where Draco was or make a run for my wand and probably still be tortured into telling them where Draco was. But I had to decide now.

Tensing my muscles, I breathed deep. I kept my eyes on the wizards as I placed my hands on the ground and grit my teeth from the pain. I closed my eyes and counted down from three.

Three. I let out a deep breath and pressed my hands harder on the ground. I flexed my arm muscles, getting ready to pump them hard and jump up fast.

Two. I opened my eyes and looked at the wizards. I pressed half of one foot into the ground so I could take off like a rocket.

One. I looked at the rock and my wand. I pushed myself up and started sprinting at it. I stumbled to the side because my legs felt like jelly and knives. By the time I straitened up the men had noticed. I could see them out of the corner of my eye taking out their wands. But I was almost there. I flung myself on the rock, but my hand missed my wand and it landed on the ground behind it.

I dove around the rock and grabbed my wand from the ground. I pressed my back against the cool stone. My heart was pumping and my head was throbbing and my skin burned just enough to be annoying. Gripping my wand to my chest, I peaked around the rock and nearly got a face full of black sparks for it. I was able to look long enough to see where each wizard was standing.

"Stupify!" I yelled and whipped around to point my wand at the bony one.

It hit him in the chest and he flew backward and slammed his head on the tree behind him. He let out a yelp of surprise and then he must have blacked out because he stayed laying there.

The other man started heading around the rock. I stood up quickly and threw a curse at him but he dodged it and it flew back into the woods somewhere. His face was gnarled up in anger and he continued to pace around the rock.

He threw a curse back at me and I ducked down again just as it skimmed the top of my head. I started just raising my hand above the rock and throwing curses wherever my wand decided. He started to move into my line of vision again. I thrust my wand at him, really hoping this would hit him so I could aparate out of here.

It knocked him square in the nose and he fell flat on his back. I watched him for a moment to make sure he was really out then I ran up to him and pointed my wand at him again. I knew I should kill him, but I hated that curse. It was so ugly and powerful.

"Obliviate." I said instead and I took his wand.

I stumbled over to the bony wizard, still feeling weak and shaky. My skin still burned and my head still ached and I was still crying and letting out raspy breaths. I felt like I was about to be sick and I wanted nothing more than to lie down again and curl up in a ball and wait until someone found me. But I knew I had to get back to Malfoy and tell him.

"Obliviate." I whispered at the wizard and picked up his wand too.

I braced myself to aparate. I knew it was going to hurt a lot, but I did it anyway.

* * *

I landed inside the hotel room. Malfoy had turned the telly off and was looking at the book I left laying on the bed. I stood shaking and crying. Draco looked up and saw me. His eyes turned dark as he looked at me and saw my limp body.

I shuffled to the bed and nearly fell on the floor, but he caught me before I could hit the ground. He pulled me in and pressed me against him. I was too weak to fight and his body was warm and strong and comforting and I couldn't get enough of that right then. His arms were wrapped around my back and I knew he was the only thing keeping me from collapsing on the floor.

I nestled my cheek into his warm shoulder and cried. I don't know why, but I just couldn't stop. I couldn't get close enough to him then, even though my skin was on fire and it hurt to touch anything, the pain seemed to lessen the closer we got.

"Hermione." He said, his voice full of worry. "What happened?"


	9. To See, Hear, and Feel

**A/N:** So I finished chapter nine super quick too because I have no life, but I guess that works better for you right? I tried to slow down and wait to post this, but then I got board and I thought what the heck, people commented on it super fast so I'll give them another!

Hope you like it, has lots more Draco/Hermione action in it than past chapters so enjoy!

Chapter ten comes after chapter nine so the poll will be closed after the next chapter is posted so make your final votes now! So far it looks like at least one chapter will be in Draco's POV but there is still time for that to change.

Okay, if you have any questions comment or PM me and I will either answer personally or in the A/N.

One more thing. I know that some authors PM their reviewers back when they comment and I didn't know if that was something you wanted to happen. I didn't want to seem like I was ignoring you when you review but I didn't want to annoy you with messages if you didn't want them. Let me know.

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**To See, Hear, and Feel**

Draco had his arms around me, pressing me in tight against his chest. My arms were folded in, but I was able to clutch his shirt and hold on for dear life. My legs were limp and if he let go, I was going to fall.

He pulled me away from him after a while to look at me. I tried to hold onto his shirt so he couldn't peel me away, but my fingers burned and they slipped right off. I started to fall again so he set me on the bed and I laid down gratefully and closed my eyes. I felt his fingers brush my arm as he rolled up the sleeves of my shirt. I heard him suck in a quick breath of air.

"Hermione, did you bring any potions?" He asked concerned.

I shook my head. No. I hadn't expected this sudden travel so I hadn't gotten any potions the last time I went to Diagon Alley. I heard a thump and the rustle of a lot of things being moved and sorted through. I lazily opened an eye and saw Draco frantically looking through my suit case. He looked curiously at bottles of perfume and lotion. Then he came across my muggle first aid kit. It was just a small white box with band-aids and disinfectant wipes and antibacterial cream inside it. He opened it quickly and took out the tube of cream. He studied it for a moment and then opened it and squeezed out a bit of clear jell onto his finger.

Draco got up and walked over to where I was on the bed. I closed my eyes and let him spread the cream on my arm. His hand was soft and gentle and smooth. He glided his fingers over my skin and the burning became less and less. My breathing steadied as I started to fall asleep. He grabbed my other arm and I flinched as he rolled up the sleeve on that one too. Then I felt him spread the cream over what must have been torn skin all the way up and down my arm. He stopped for a moment and breathed in another gasp.

"Merlin! What did you do?" His voice was full of worry.

I opened my eyes slightly and looked up at him. He was staring at an exposed part of my stomach. I looked down and saw that my skin was torn open there and I could see what looked like my muscles under the tissue. I felt sick. My head fell back and I closed my eyes. His fingers grazed the outside of the cuts which made me suck in my stomach and shiver.

There was a tug at the bottom of my shirt and I realized that Draco was pulling it up slightly. I wanted to sit up and cover my skin from him, but it burned so much and I was afraid that if I sat up I would get sick all over.

He moved his soft fingers over the torn areas, sealing them with cream. My breathing became rapid and goosebumps rose up on my skin. He rubbed cream into the cuts that zigzagged across my stomach and around my belly button. Lightly massaging my stomach, up up up until he reached the bottom of my ribs. The burning on my stomach had decreased but my chest was still on fire.

I didn't know if I wanted him to go up any farther. It felt good, but the thought scared me. I felt him shift his weight on the bed and I felt his warmth as he leaned over me. I jumped at his finger brushing cream right under my eye and around my eyebrow onto my forehead.

Then he was done and it was quiet. I wanted to open my eyes and see where he was but I couldn't His weight was gone from the bed and I felt alone. For the first time I wanted Draco Malfoy here. I wanted to see him, feel him, smell him, or just know he was beside me. I wanted to reach out and find him and pull him back down onto the bed so I could feel his weight there again. But I couldn't move. Every time I let out a breath I became more and more tired. I felt my muscles relax with each breath and little by little I fell farther into sleep.

* * *

I woke with a start about three or four hours later. I sat up quickly in the bed and looked around me. For a second I forgot where I was and was startled to find that I wasn't in my own bed. Draco was on the floor with his back against the wall and entertaining himself with a game of sorts were he would shoot a marble through a forest of small cones and try to make it to the other side without hitting a cone.

He looked up and saw that I was awake so he got up quickly and walked over, knocking over all the cones in the process. "Are you okay?" He said eyeing the cuts on my arm that would have been healed by now if I had brought potions.

I was feeling much better. My head still hurt a little but I didn't feel sick any more and most of my cuts didn't hurt. "Ya." I said quietly.

"You got splinched pretty bad." He said.

It wasn't that bad. I remembered when Ron got splinched on our way out of the ministry. That was bad.

"You want to tell me what happened?" He looked down at me.

I realized he probably thought that I had after all tried to aparate without him. It made me angry that he was thinking that but I didn't stay angry at him for long because I remembered the wizards who did this to me and my anger went strait to them.

"There were two wizards." I said recalling what had happened. "They were following me. They took me to the woods." I looked at my shoes. They were muddy scuffed and getting dirt all over the bed sheets. "They were looking for you." I said looking up into Draco's eyes.

He didn't look shocked. He looked angry and sorry at the same time. His eyes were darker than usual. He covered his face in his hands.

"They said you took something from them and they want to return the favor." I continued trying to see his face through his hands.

"Shit." He mumbled. "Hermione, I'm so sorry. I had no idea they would do this to you." He uncovered his face and looked me in the eye.

His eyes were full of tears, but he wasn't crying yet. The skin around his eyes was red and puffy. I felt like I should say something, tell him it was okay but I had no idea what he was apologizing for.

"Please tell me you killed them." He said.

I shook my head. "I couldn't do it. I obliviated them though."

He sniffed and looked at the ceiling. "It wont matter. There's more. They will just restore their memories."

"Who is 'they'?" I asked.

It was quiet for a while like Draco was debating whether or not to tell me. I stared at the mess of cones on the ground and the one marble that had rolled a way from them.

"They are former Deatheaters, like my father." He said, now looking at his shoes that where perfectly polished and shiny.

I wanted to ask him what they wanted, what Draco did to make them come looking for him, what he took from them, but I couldn't find the right words.

He cleared his throat. "They've been looking for me for a while but I've managed to keep them away with my work at the Ministry." He turned to look at me.

His stare was intense and sad. I had to look away.

"They want to kill me." He said. "Because I took my father from them. I killed my father." He whispered.


	10. Losing Trust

**A/N:** Whoa! Super short chapter! I know! But I have a reason! The next chapter will be in Draco's POV and I was at the perfect stopping point in this one. This one is short, also because the next one will most likely be longer than usual. I'm giving you this one quickly too because I have a feeling that I will have a little trouble writing in Draco's POV so it may take a while for me to post it. Also, your great and I had tons of reviews overnight so that was good to wake up to!

I had questions from previous chapters arise, and I answered that person personally, but in case anyone else was wondering: I had forgotten that Grinngots exchanged muggle and wizard money so that may be something I fix in previous chapters after this story is finished. Draco and Hermione taking a plane never really crossed my mind, but I'm assuming that Draco would be too uncomfortable on a plane and they would wind up choosing a different method of travel anyway. I had thought about them using a portkey, but as far as I know, you need to check into the Ministry to use one, and since what Draco and Hermione are doing could get Draco thrown in Azkaban for snooping in the Ministry, they need to keep a low profile and using a portkey could give them away. Perhaps I'll add that into the story later as well. And the question about Hermione just using accio wand in chapter 8, I'm pretty sure you need a wand for it to work. I mean, maybe she could do wandless magic, but I don't remember it in the books.

Anyway, sorry for the super short chapter, but remember that there is a longer one coming, and it will be in **Draco's POV** That's right I had a total of zero votes for no in the poll, which is now closed by the way.

I continue to appreciate your reviews, so keep it up!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**Losing Trust **

My eyes got big and I felt myself involuntarily lean away from him. "What?!" I said.

I wasn't sure if I'd heard him right. Did Draco say he killed his father? His own father? Who was standing in front of me? I thought Malfoy had changed and now he decides to tell me he killed his own father! What kind of person does that?!

He looked at me. His eyes were sad and big. I glared back at him and he looked down at his shoes.

"It was an accident." He whispered.

I couldn't picture a situation where Malfoy 'accidentally' kills his father. I continued to look at him in disgust. He glanced up at me and I saw him break as he realized what I was thinking.

"Hermione, you have to believe me." He pleaded. "no one else does. My mother says she believes me, but I know she doesn't."

He shook his head and sat down on the bed. I scooted away from him and watched him carefully.

"Why aren't you in Azkaban?" I asked. "Does the Ministry even know about this?"

He nodded, making his hair fall down into his face. "The Ministry knows. There was a hearing for it and everything."

"And they let you go?!" I asked appalled. Our ministry was letting a murderer walk? That never happens. Never.

"It was an accident Hermione!" He said.

He put his face in his hands. It was quiet. I didn't know what to say or do. I didn't know if he was lying and I didn't know whether I believed him or not.

I itched lightly at the the skin around the cuts on my arms. It was itching because they were starting to heal. They were starting to heal because the Draco Malfoy I was starting to get used to cared about me. And I had let him rub the cream on my arms because I was starting to trust him. But now I didn't know if I could again.

Did he really know where my parents were? Could I trust him to take me to them anymore? My head spun with questions. I put my head in my hands too and sighed. I needed to talk to someone and it couldn't be Malfoy. I wanted Ginny and Analiza to take me out and make me forget this ever happened. For once I wanted Analiza to force a firewhisky down my throat and Ginny to force me to listen to her crazy love stories. I wanted to hang out with Harry and Ron again like we used to so they could roll their eyes at me when I made a point and make fun of me always having a book in my hands.

I missed Harry and Ron. I hadn't seen them in quite some time. When I got back I was going to make everyone get together. Harry, Ron, Ginny, even Nevil and Luna. And even though Analiza didn't know my Hogwarts friends too well besides Ginny, I knew should would make them get along with her. And we will go to Diagon Alley and have a Butterbeer, and all of this, will be just a faint memory.

I sighed again and rubbed my eyes. Glancing over at Malfoy who was still hunched over I said, "What did you do?"


	11. You Did This

**A/N: ** First, I'd like to say a Happy 4th of July/ Independence Day to my American readers! You guys are awesome, keep doing what you do!

So. Here it is. Chapter 11. In Draco's point of view. I tried to make this one as perfect as possible for you. I hope you like it!

I had a question in the reviews from a guest about how old Hermione is. Hermione and Draco are both about 21 in this story. The same guest also asked to see Hermione be more mature, so I will do my best to make her that way.

I believe that is it! Keep reading and reviewing! Love you all!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**You Did This**

I looked up at Hermione who was staring questioningly at me. I took a deep breath. This was my chance to prove to her that I wasn't like she remembered. So much had happened to her today and it was my fault again. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. Everything stupid I ever did was coming back and hurting her. I wanted to go back and smack my past self around for what I did.

I looked into her caramel eyes. They were angry, but I didn't blame her. She definitely had the right to be. In fact, she'd acted much better than I thought she would in response to me seeking her out. I had thought for sure that I'd at least get a smack to the face, but there was still time for that I guess.

"What did you do?" She had asked.

What _did_ I do? I killed my own father, that's what I did. I remembered it, clear as day. I hated my father so much, but I would never kill him, not on purpose. But I guess I loved him enough to hate myself every day after it happened.

I rubbed my temples. I needed to tell Hermione what happened. I needed to tell her in a way so that she would see it was an accident. But I didn't know how to do that. I could only think of the same words I used to tell my mother and the Minister at the hearing.

Looking down at my shoes, I told Hermione the truth.

* * *

It was about a year ago. My mother and father were in the main level living area in our manor. They were fighting, again. I normally tried to avoid the fights by slipping to my room or heading to our library or the kitchen, anywhere, when I could feel the tension rising, but that night it happened suddenly.

I was sitting in the living area in a high backed chair next to the fireplace reading or something. My mother was in her usual leather chair, the one with the shall draped over it. She was writing or reading or maybe she was just sitting there. It was quiet. All I could hear was the cracking and popping of the fire and the grandfather clock in the corner ticking. The room was dark and it had no windows. The flames from the fire cast odd shadows onto the walls and over the display cases.

Then my father came in and all of a sudden they were fighting again. I don't remember what about, but they were really angry. I tried to sink down into the chair and ignore it. My father scared me. He scared my mother, but she was brave enough to yell back.

I remembered my mother start to cry after a while. That's when I put down my book and started to pay attention to what was happening. Between her sobs, she yelled something nasty at my father in her last attempt to end the fight on her side. I watched his face scrunch up and his eyes flashed and he looked truly scary. He bawled up his fists at his sides and then, SMACK. He'd hit my mother. He'd hit her right on the face.

She stopped crying. She was holding her cheek in shock. Her eyes were wide with surprise, but she looked completely calm. I felt my eyes grow as big as hers and anger surged through my body. She stood up strait and dropped her hand from her face and puffed out her chest trying to look brave. There was a huge bruise forming were he hand had been and I could see tears in her eyes that she was trying so hard to keep in now.

I felt my own fist bunch up. I stared at my mother who stared at my father. I waited for her to do something. To hit him back, yell at him, run away, cry, but she didn't. She just stood there and stared at him.

I stood up quickly, fist clenched, and marched to where my father was standing. I saw my mother notice me for the first time and recognize what I was about to do.

"Draco..." She said quietly reaching for my arm

I shook her off and stood right up into my fathers face. I was boiling with anger. I felt out of control, I couldn't stop my self. "Don't touch her you bastard!" I said between clenched teeth, and then I punched him, as hard as I could right under his eye.

He staggered backward and touched his skin where I hit him. It was already starting to bruise and swell. He looked just as surprised as my mother had been, but surprised and angry.

It felt good to punch him. I'd punched things and people before, but I really meant this. All those times I had dreamed about wrecking his face had gone into that punch. My hand throbbed. I held it close to my chest, feeling it start to bruise as well.

Then, with fire in his eyes, my father started at me. I blocked out the pain in my hand and took another swing at him as he came closer. But I missed and I felt something hit my head hard. I staggered backward and held a hand to my head. I heard my mother scream and start to cry again.

Everything was black for a second. My head hurt and I couldn't figure out why. I started to fall backwards and then forwards. Then I felt something hit my chin. I heard a crack and I coughed, surprised. My eyes cleared and I saw my father bring back his arm to punch me again. I tried to stand up properly but I felt dizzy and sick.

Hazily, I saw my mother grab a hold of my father's arms to stop him from swinging at me. I tasted blood and I felt it pouring down my lip and onto my chin. I saw my father throw my mother to the ground. Then he looked at me like he was debating whether or not to hit me again. Finally he turned around and walked out of the room.

I felt angry again. The metallic taste of the blood in my mouth made me angrier. The pounding in my head made me furious. My crying mother on the ground made me spitting. I bawled my fists and shook with anger. Blinded by hatred, I stormed after my father. My mother was yelling at me to stop, but I payed no attention.

I followed him out of the living area and down the dark halls and eventually out the front door. I didn't know what I was going to do to him, but I wanted to make him pay for hitting my mother, for hitting me, for controlling us our entire lives. He stormed around the front of the manor and walked to the back. It was dark out and hard to see. I followed his darkening shape around my mother's garden and past hedges that lined the house.

Suddenly I noticed that he was growing closer and I realized he had stopped walking. I was frightened by this for a second so I stopped and watched him. He was standing still with his back to me. His head was bent like he was looking down.

I walked closer, trying to see what he was doing. He turned around and looked at me. I sized up and glared at him. He looked right at me. Right at the bruise on my head and the blood on my chin and the fury in my eyes, and he didn't even look sorry about it.

We watched each other for a moment before he finally spoke.

"You did this." He said, his voice was flat and unemotional.

His voice rang through my head like a bell. _You did this, you did this, you did this. _Then he turned away from me again and walked strait forward and was gone.

I ran to where he had been standing and leaned over the cliff that ran just behind the manor. My heart started pounding. Ohgodohgodohgod. My shaking hands fumbled for my wand in my pocket. I gripped it tightly and then threw a ball of light down the dark chasm. It floated down gracefully, lighting up the edge of the cliff and the rocks and casting eerie shadows against the rock wall on the other side. I watched it intently, fearing what I would see when it lit the bottom.

Finally it settled on the rocky floor and I could see clearly the mangled shape of my father's body. Even from this far up I could see that his eyes where frozen open and staring at me. _You did this._ His hair was spread out in a fan above his head and his limbs were contorted.

"NO!" I screamed. My eyes welled with tears and poured down my face. I didn't bother to wipe them off, I let them roll down my cheeks and wash off the blood on my chin and fall down the cliff with my father.

"NO!" I screamed louder. My voice echoed off the other side of the cliff and bounced back to me. Then it hit me. This was my fault. I _did_ do this. I crouched down into a ball and covered my face. "What have I done?" I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Then my mother was behind me, yelling and crying, "Draco! What have you done?!" She shrieked.

I couldn't even answer her. I just sat there and cried. I wanted to jump off the cliff after my father, but I couldn't move. My mother was crying behind me, my father was dead below me, and everything, all of it, was my fault. _You did this._

* * *

I looked over at Hermione. She was staring at me in disbelief. The look in her eyes told me she didn't believe a word I said. I looked away from her eyes and studied her face. Her brow was furrowed and her small lips were agape. The cut around her eye and up her forehead glistened with the jell I'd put on it and it look horribly painful. Something else that was my fault. Her brown bushy hair had tamed it's self since Hogwarts, but It was still sticking all all over the place. But that might be partially to everything that she went through today.

"Draco," She said.

My eyes snapped back to hers. I couldn't remember her ever saying my name without hate and disgust laced through her voice.

"Your father's death was not your fault." She said.

Shocked, I studied her. I couldn't believe it. She believed me. Hermione Granger, of all people, believed me. How could I ever have been so mean to someone so kind?

I shook my head. "No, Hermione." I said. "My father's death was an accident, but it was my fault."

"No it wasn't!" She said almost happily. "It was _his _fault! You didn't do anything!"

Maybe she was right, but my father's last words still haunted me, _you did this._

I ran a hand threw my hair that had fallen down onto my face. I hated when it did that. I thought about taking a pair of scissors and just chopping it off.

"Thank's Hermione." I stood up.

She looked at me sadly and I had the feeling she knew I still believed it was my fault. I walked over to the little game I had set up earlier to pass the time and waved my wand so that the cones would stack themselves and the marble would roll back and hide under the bottom cone.

"I'm going to take a shower." I said and shuffled toward the bathroom door.

* * *

I emerged from the longest shower I'd ever taken, in a cloud of steam about an hour later. The room was dark and quiet. I tiptoed out and shut the door behind me. Looking over at the bed, I saw Hermione's sleeping form rise and fall slightly as she breathed.

I moved silently around the bed and to the large cabinet that was holding what Hermione said was a television. I opened the cabinet doors and found extra blankets I could use. I took them out and laid them orderly on the floor to make a makeshift bed. I knew that no matter how many blankets I put down, it was still going to be uncomfortable. I couldn't recall a time when I ever had to sleep on the floor. I'd always had a bed to sleep on and I became increasingly thankful for that as I stared at the pile of blankets.

My eyes traveled over to Hermione again. She was scrunched up into the fetal position underneath all the blankets. Her breathing was slow and steady. Her small face was just visible over the sheets and under her mop of hair. I realized she was beautiful. Despite what I had told her to believe about herself years ago at Hogwarts, she was beautiful. Not just her face, but she herself was a beautiful person.

I laid down on the blankets on the floor. I was right, it was uncomfortable. Pulling the blankets up to my face, I closed my eyes and fell asleep almost instantly. Because right then, in this quiet room, in this dark night, I didn't have anything to worry about.

That would change.


	12. Germany

**A/N:** Wow! I got some amazing reviews so I'd like to say a thank you to all who have reviewed so far! I love the reviews, I love you, keep it up!

Not much to say about this chapter. Little bit of Hermione/Draco action, but not as much as there will be. This chapter has some German in it for all my German speaking readers. Again, don't kill me if the grammar is wrong! I do speak a little German, but I am no where to good at it in the grammar area. If you see I have something incorrect, please PM me with how it should be and I will fix it.

Keep Reviewing, Favoriting, and Following!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**Germany**

Germany was beautiful. It was like stepping into a fairy tale. The skies where clear and blue with just the perfect amount of fluffy white clouds. The rivers were sparkling and clear. and the trees were tall and strong and enchanting.

Draco and I had landed in flowing field of tall green grass somewhere in Germany. Draco had insisted that we stay in Belgium one more day so I could heal more, but I insisted that we don't. I won. And I got a major headache for it, but I wasn't about to let Draco know that.

He turned around in circles and looked off into the distance. "I think I see a town over there." He said squinting and pointing ahead of him.

I followed his pale finger with my eyes and spotted the very tops of some buildings far off in the distance. He couldn't have landed us any closer? I huffed and trudged in that direction. Draco walked behind me, but I wished he would go ahead in front because I had no idea where I was going and with him leading I could blame him if we got lost.

* * *

After about about thirty minutes of walking with just the chirping birds to break the silence, we arrived at a dirt road and where standing in front of a small green sign that read: "Süden Friedrichstadt 5 Minuten" in big white letters.

"What's it say?" I asked looking up at Draco who was studying the sign carefully.

"Umm..." He mumbled and bringing a spidery hand to his chin like he was really reading what the sign said. "It says that one of us needs to learn German."

I laughed. "I'll get right on that."

He smiled at me. Again, I thought about how odd it was that this was a real Draco Malfoy smile and not a smirk. His eyes twinkled with the sunlight and it looked weird to see his stormy gray eyes against the bright sun. They were so opposite each other.

"Let's just keep following the road. There's a house up there so that town is probably close by." He nodded toward an old farm house that looked crinkled and abandoned, but there was a car in the driveway that looked like it had been driven recently.

"Okay." I said and we started walking again.

We walked side by side on the dusty road. Our steps kicked up dirt behind us that thinned out as it rose into the air and rolled away with the slight breeze. Our hands bumped occasionally sending shivers through my fingers and up my arm each time I felt the back of his hand graze mine. I looked strait forward though, and tried my darnedest not to glance at Draco.

* * *

A sign on the edge of a small town hinted that we had just arrived in Friedrichstadt. The buildings here where old and packed close together. They were mostly white and framed with vines and flowers. And they somewhat resembled pyramids, being that the bottoms where wide and contained a shop or small restaurant and the tops held apartments that narrowed into just one apartment at the very top.

We passed the cutest little bakery I'd ever seen and I half expected to see Cinderella come dancing out of it. The smells of rolls, biscuits, cakes, and pies wafted out and found it's way right under my nose. I breathed deep, almost tasting the smell.

I stopped walking and tapped Draco on the arm. "Let's go in there." I said dreamily pointing to the bakery.

"Shouldn't we find an inn to stay at first?" He asked, but followed me up to the doors.

"You go ahead then." I said waving him off, but I knew perfectly well that he wasn't going to leave me.

I opened the doors and the smell became even stronger. My eyes grew wide at the sight of pastry after pastry lined up behind glass walls, all looking uniquely delicious. My eyes swept over each one and I imagined what each would taste like.

"Oh my God, chocolate." I heard Draco exclaim quietly behind me.

I turned around to find him with his face pressed against the glass of a counter full of chocolate covered everything.

Needless to say, we left with bag full of goodies each and we started down the street again in search for an inn. But then I saw a lovely flower shop that I persuaded Draco we needed to stop at.

As soon as we stepped into the cool, earthy smelling shop, we were attacked by a German speaking florist who was most definitely trying to get Draco to buy me a rose.

"Rose für die Dame, mein Herr?" He said thrusting a rose in Draco's face. The little white haired man became very agitated when Draco tried pushing him away and saying that he didn't speak German. He started jabbering angrily in his harsh German accent which could have been in English, but he was speaking too fast to understand. He kept pointing at the rose in his hand and then jabbing his finger at Draco and then pointing at me.

I started laughing because of the scared expression on Draco's face. His eyes were wide, he was holding up his hands defensively, and he was cowering away as much as he could despite that he was much taller and stronger than the little man and could easily wipe him out with a spell from his wand.

"It's okay!" I said grabbing the florist's arm.

He stopped yelling and looked at me grumpily. "He is bad for you." He huffed. "He won't just buy you a rose!"

"It's okay, I don't like roses." I said instead of trying to explain to him that Draco wasn't 'mine'.

The little man looked crestfallen and Draco looked shocked and relieved.

"I think we better go..." I whispered.

Back on the street Draco turned to me. "You don't like roses?" He asked.

I shook my head. Roses had never been my favorite.

"But every girl likes roses." He said confused.

I laughed. "Ya. And every girl likes lot's of makeup and dresses and shoes and none of us like sports and hiking and hunting and fishing." I said sarcastically.

"Okay." He said. "You don't like roses."

We kept walking and taking in the sights of this beautiful little town. Suddenly Draco turned to me again. "What _do_ you like?" He said quickly.

I looked at him and for once I was the one doing the smirking. "Dandelions." I said.

"Dandelions aren't flowers. They're weeds." He said.

"I know. But they look like a flower."

"Why do you like them then?"

"Because they're simple and plain and unappreciated." I replied smartly. "What do _you_ like?" I asked him.

We passed a fruit market where colourful fruits of all kind where on display.

"I never really thought about it." He shrugged.

"Because boys don't like flowers?" I teased.

He gave me a sly look and a smirk that surprisingly looked nothing like I remembered it looking. It wasn't the sly look and smirk that I had seen so often when I was at Hogwarts. This one was covered in playfulness rather than hate.

* * *

We came across a rather odd shop after a while that had dream catchers in the windows and wind chimes hanging off the overhang and bundles of dried flowers laying in patterns on the ground. It grabbed my attention. A sign above the door said: 'Krimskrams', which didn't mean the foggiest to me, but I wanted inside just the same.

It was dark inside and dusty. It reminded me a little of the shops in Knockturn Alley. Almost everything was old and looked like it hadn't been moved in years, yet there where still price tags on each thing.

An old woman appeared out of nowhere. "Kann ich Ihnen helfen etwas zu finden?" She asked.

I turned to her. "Sorry, I don't speak German." I said.

She studied my face for a moment. "Ah!" She suddenly gasped. "I know what you need!"

"You do?" I asked, a little worried.

She nodded and then shuffled through a doorway that said 'Mitarbeiter nur' on a sign next to it. There was a lot of clanking and banging coming from that direction.

"Maybe we should go." Draco said nervously from behind me.

I was going to turn around and ask him if he was scared, but just then the woman shuffled back into the room with a small glass bottle in her hand. I knew what it was almost instantly.

"Is that...?"

"A potion. For your cut." She cut me off.

I looked at her testily. Was she really a witch or was she a crazy voodoo lady who had some how gotten her hands on a bottle of essence of Dittany?

She held out the bottle. "You've been splinched, ja?" She asked.

"Yes." I replied still wary. I took the bottle carefully from her. "Thank you."

"Ten galleons will be thanks enough." She said.

I dug in my purse and handed over the galleons. She counted it, then nodded and turned around and went back through the 'Mitarbeiter nur' door way.

I tucked the potion in my purse and turned to leave.

"That was a little odd." Said Draco, opening the door for me.

Odd that witches and wizards were working among muggles? Maybe to him, but not to me.

* * *

After walking for a while, we eventually found an inn. It wasn't hard to spot, as it had a large sign over the double doors that said 'Hotel'. We checked in and I made it very clear that we needed _two _rooms. It wasn't until I had settled myself into room five that I realized how hungry I was. I checked my watch. 1:26. My stomach growled again.

I remembered the bag of pastries I had bought and I went to where it was seated on the night stand, licking my lips. However, before I could reach them, there was a knock on the door.

I don't know why I looked through the peephole, because I already knew it was Draco. I opened the door. He looked like he'd added more jell to his hair and I could smell a freshly sprayed cologne that was musky and smelled a little like peppermint leaves.

"Don't say no." He said looking me right in the eye. "But, can I take you out to dinner?"

I blushed. "What if I say no?" I asked.

He looked a little scared and taken back. Obviously he never anticipated this response. "Um- well- I-" He mumbled and looked away like he would find the appropriate answer somewhere on the walls.

I smiled. "Yes." I said.

He stopped rambling and looked at me like a dear in the headlights. "What?" He breathed.

"Yes, you can take me out to dinner." I said slowly.

A grin spread across his face.


	13. The Bridge

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay with this one, I had a little trouble writing it, but I think you'll like it! Thanks to everyone who commented on the last chapter. And a special thanks to everyone who is still here, reading this. This was my first fanfic so it is sloppy and wasn't well planned out when I started it, but everyone one of you have encouraged me to write on! I love you all for sticking with me even though I know this fic isn't the best. No, we are not close close to the finish with this one, but I felt like I should tell you that I plan on working on an additional fic (Dramione of coarse) along with this one, but probably won't be posted until I finish this. I'm not going to give away too much information about it because I haven't got it all figured out myself. But I can tell you that I plan on taking that one slower and really developing the characters. Again, don't fret, as long as I have people still enjoying Searching I will not stop writing it, but you have to let me know what you think in the reviews!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**The Bridge**

I blushed as Draco pulled out my chair for me. "Thanks." I said.

He smiled and walked around to his side of the table. We were at a small outdoor restaurant in the small town we were in. The air was crisp and cool and smelled like leaves, but with the sun shining down on me it wasn't cold enough that I wished we had found somewhere inside.

It was about two thirty. In my opinion, that was too late for lunch, but too early for supper. So we were having-lupper? I looked at the menu in front of me and instantly realized that it was in German. The pictures of food on it, which mostly consisted of sausage, looked great, but I couldn't tell what I was going to get without being able to read it.

Draco must have realized this too, because he started waving over a waiter. The thin man in a tuxedo walked over to us.

"Ja?" He asked

"Do you have any English menus?" Draco asked him kindly.

The waiter said yes, but he didn't move to get them.

Draco looked at him, confusion marked on his brow. "Can we have some English menus?" He asked carefully.

"Oh, yes!" This time the waiter seemed to know what Draco was asking and he turned on his heel and marched back inside to, hopefully, get us English menus.

Draco raised a perfect eyebrow at me as if to say, 'weird'. I smirked back and then looked down at the German menu again. His eyes were always so intense, it was hard to not look away when he looked at me. Maybe it was the piercing silver colour of them, or the way he seemed to go forever without blinking. All I wanted to do was stare into his eyes, to see the texture and colour variations, but when ever I tried, I had to look away. I could only steel small glances when he wasn't looking.

Soon enough, the waiter came back with identical menus, the only difference being that the ones he placed in front of us now were in English. We nodded a thank you at him and then scanned the menus for something I wanted.

The restaurant Draco and I had found was nothing fancy, but I was thankful for that. I knew that if Draco had his way, we would be eating somewhere much more elegant than 'Die Wurst Haus'. Not that I didn't enjoy fine dining, I just wasn't too sure I would enjoy even this with Draco.

We ate in almost silence. I kept my head down mostly. I wanted to break the silence so badly, but I had nothing I wanted to say. Draco asked once if my food was good, and I said yes and then asked him if his food was good, and he said yes, and that was pretty much it. We sat there, suffocating in our own silence.

When we finally finished our meals and with that, the awkwardness between us, the sun was dipping low in the sky, sending out beautiful rays of pink and navy and orange. Sunsets were my favorite. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because they are the last part of the day you see before the mysterious night creeps in and shadows everything in darkness.

We walked out of the restaurant quietly and shuffled down the street. I let Draco guide me back to the hotel, but after a turn I'm sure we missed, I had the feeling that wasn't where he was planning on heading.

"Where are we going?" I asked quietly.

He shrugged. "I thought we would go for a walk. Is that okay?"

I nodded. His arm bumped against mine, sending shivers up my arm even though I wasn't cold, to gently push me around the corner. I noticed we were heading to a small brick bridge that was arched over a creak. It looked like the most beautiful place to be when the sun was setting and the first stars were bravely shining their way into the sky.

Despite the chilliness that came with the setting sun, I felt warm with Draco right beside me, gently brushing his hand on mine, although I wasn't sure if that was by accident or not. His touch was so soft. I wanted more. I _needed_ more. He brushed his hand against mine, more strongly this time, and I knew it wasn't a mistake. I opened my hand and his slid into mine with ease, like it was suppose to be there. My heart fluttered as I felt his warm hand cup mine. He was so soft and delicate, words I never would have use before to describe him.

I continue staring forward and walking like it was no big deal, but I was freaking out in my head, only it was the bad kind. My head was telling me to stop, to realized who's hand I was holding, but I didn't want to so I pushed it a side.

He pulled me up onto the bridge and we leaned with our backs against the sides and watched the sun dip farther and farther down into the sky. I felt the tiniest squeezed come from his hand and into mine. Finally, I turned to look at him. His eyes were wide with amazement, like he was watching the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Only, he wasn't watching the sunset, he was watching me.

I looked into his icy eyes and desperately tried not to look away, but I had to. I looked at his snowy hair that looked so perfect falling down into his face. My eyes grazed over his forehead and onto his light eyebrows and then down to his soft cheek and perfect lips.

He moved closer and I was positively scorching from the heat his body gave off. His breath lightly tickled my face as he looked down at me. I felt sleepy, like I was dreaming. He glanced down at my lips and then his other hand was on my cheek. Soft, warm. His thumb, just below my eye, moved back and forth, gently to rub my cheek. My eye lids fluttered and I couldn't think about anything but his body touching mine.

Then he moved even closer to fill what was left of the gap between us and I felt like I couldn't breath. His cologne was strong and intoxicating, but what really drugged me was just the smell of him, his natural smell. It was there, but it was hard to pick up on what it really smelled like. Soap, hair jell, paper? He lifted my face with the hand cupping my cheek and my eyelids fluttered shut.

Then I felt his lips on mine. They where so soft and feathery, I almost couldn't tell if they were lips at all. I felt like my chest had been set on fire. He ever so lightly massaged his mouth on mine, his tongue gently rubbed my bottom lip. He tasted like the chocolate mints they had brought us after our meal. I felt like I could faint. I been kissed before, but this was different. Those times with Victor and Ron, and that unfortunate time under the mistletoe with- no- this was so different. Draco was soft and gentle. Those other times were harsh and lusty like they didn't mean it.

He pushed farther into the kiss, pressing my back against the stone wall. It felt wonderful, amazing, but that was when I realized I couldn't do this. Had I forgotten that this was Draco Malfoy? My eyes snapped open and I pressed my hand on his muscular chest to push him away. He pulled his lips off mine and looked at me a little frightened. My lips tingled and practically begged me to let his touch mine again, and believe me, I wanted him to, but I couldn't let him. This was just moving too fast. Within less than a week I had gone from loathing him to kissing him on the bridge and it scared me to death how much I wanted it.

"Sorry." I breathed.

He let out a deep breath that felt cool against my neck. He searched my eyes, wrestling to keep them on his.

"I just can't do this." I explained. "Not now, not with you."

He looked hurt, like I'd slapped him across the face. And for a second he just looked at me. Then he nodded and let go of my cheek and hand and stepped away.

I breathed a sigh and shook my head. I felt so bad that I had to stop him, but I just couldn't let Draco Malfoy kiss me. I still had images from our Hogwarts day flash in my mind and make me scared of the 'new' him.

I turned away and walked down the bridge and back towards the inn. I couldn't hear his footsteps behind me, so I assumed he had stayed where he was. I put my head in my hands and felt the first tears start to prick their way out of my eyes. I touched my lips gently and I could almost still feel him there, sucking my lips and caressing them with his tongue.

I moved quickly to the hotel. I just wanted to lay in my bed and fall into a dreamless sleep and forget this even happened. But I knew that no matter how hard I tried, or how much I wished, I would never ever forget his kiss.


	14. Apologies and Acceptances

**A/N: **Hello! Goodness! Chapter 14 already! It feels like I just started this story a few days ago! So I'm interested in how many of the people who are following me are still reading. Also I would like to see who reads the announcements. If you could just say hi or something in the reviews to let me know that would be great! Also review with your thoughts!

Thanks to everyone who has been reading this so far, and a special welcome to those of you who read past (my horrible) chapter one and are just joining me for the first time today!

Okay! Here's a chapter with a lot of Dramione action just because you guys are amazing. Keep it up! Had some very lovely comments last time! Thank you!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**Apologies and Acceptances**

It had five days since that night on the bridge. We were in Poland now. The winds of winter were really trying to break into autumn as it was quiet chilly and Draco and I both had switched from just long sleeves to at least a jumper. The nights were starting to become longer and the skies where starting to get heavy with the need to snow.

Draco and I hadn't talked. I couldn't quite tell if he was avoiding me or if I was avoiding him or if we both where avoiding each other. Every time I looked at him I felt guilt punch me in the gut. I told myself that I shouldn't feel guilty, that I didn't have to rush into this if I didn't want to, that I didn't have to do this at all. After I had gotten back to the hotel after our kiss I wanted to just leave him and find my parents on my own. But, as much as I didn't want to admit it, I needed him. If it wasn't for his incredible talent of being able to aparate so smoothly, we would be in a lot worse condition than slight headaches. He knew more about that file on my parents than I did, which meant he probably had a good idea where they were. And he had money. Lots of money. I don't know how I would have paid for hotels and meals without him. But other than that, I simply couldn't bring myself to leave without him.

It was seven o'clock in the evening. The sky outside was dark as pitch without even a few stars to help light the sky. We'd managed to check into two separate rooms in an inn called, "Przytulny pensjonat", without saying a word to each other. The silence between us was growing increasingly awkward with each minute we spent together. And the minutes I wasn't with Draco had me feeling guilty as ever.

I sighed and snapped my book shut. I had started a new one a few days ago, but with Draco constantly dancing through my mind, I really had no idea what the book was even about. And, as you might have guessed, Draco had stumbled into my head yet again. I couldn't keep living like this. I couldn't concentrate, or think, or operate properly. I needed to talked to him and explain why I did what I did. Maybe he would understand, maybe he wouldn't, but hopefully my guilt would finally leave.

Slipping my feet into my slippers, I trudged out of my room and down the hall to stand in front of his door. I could hear the muffled sounds of Polish television through the door, but I couldn't hear any indication that Malfoy was somewhere in the room. I took a deep breath and rapped my knuckles lightly on the wood. It was quiet for a moment except for the telly and then the doorknob turned and Draco's silhouette stood in the door way, illuminated by the colourful flashing lights coming from behind.

"Draco, I wanted to say that I'm sorry." I mumbled. "For the night on the bridge. I should have stayed and explained."

I couldn't really see his face, so I stared shyly up towards his head. He tilted it slightly to the right, like he was thinking. Something on the television made a large bang and screech and then a high voice was gibbering away in Polish.

"Hermione, it's okay." He said like it was obvious. "I shouldn't have... you just weren't... it's my fault." He stammered trying to find the right words.

"No." I said remembering the night in Belgium when he kept saying everything was his fault. "It wasn't your fault. I just wasn't ready." I explained.

I thought I saw his silhouette nod and then we where in silence again. I didn't want to leave, but I felt like that was what I was suppose to do. The telly made an odd noise again and the room lit up bright green. I could see his face then in those seconds. He didn't look sad like I expected him to look, in fact, I thought I saw a small smile on his lips.

Oh the lips! That was another thing about him that I couldn't get out of my mind. How could lips be that soft? It just didn't seem real. I wanted to touch his lips and feel if they felt the same as I remembered. I _needed_ to touch his lips again.

Pulling my eyes away from the spot his lips had been in I said, "Well I better-"

"Stay!" He said quickly. "I mean, would you like to come in?" He stepped out of the way so I could walk into his room.

I looked nervously down the hall and then back at Draco's room, and then nervously down the hall and then back at Draco's room. I wondered what would happen if I just went back to my room. Would there still be this awkwardness between us? But more importantly I wondered what would happen if I just went into Draco's room.

_His lips._

I walked in and smiled up at Draco like this was normal.

"I have something for you." He said as he shut the door and the room became darker.

"You do?" I asked nervously.

I watched him carefully as he moved to turn the lamp on and help illuminate the room. Then he took out his wand and expanded his suitcase to it's normal size. I slipped my lip between my teeth nervously as he rummaged through his belongings. What could Draco Malfoy possibly have for me? Then he pulled out a black rectangular object that looked almost like a thin book.

"This is the one you were looking at, right?" He held up the object and now I could see what it really was.

I gasped and then laughed at it. "When did you get that?" I asked in amazement. I reached out and took the film I had been looking at in the shop next to the cafe in London when he had suddenly shown up. It was the one with the green skinned woman in a black witches hat and dress on an old broom.

"The same time I got these." He said and dumped out a bag of muggle sweets and crisps. "I think I understand what a movie is now." He said. He sat down on the bed in front of the telly and patted the spot next to him for me to sit.

I moved over to him warily and acutely aware that I was crawling into the same bed as Draco Malfoy. "You do?" I asked, curious to know what he thought a movie was.

"Yes. It's a story, like a book, but there are pictures with sounds." He studied me. "Am I right?"

I was surprised at his well explanation of a film. "Pretty much, ya." I smiled.

"Only, I don't know how to work it."

"Here." I took the disc out of the case and slid it into the DVD player next to the telly.

The screen turned black for a moment and then the pre-movie warnings faded in. I sat down next to him again.

Arms touching.

Shivers.

"Want some... what ever this is?" He held out a bag of gummy bears, all the while staring quizzically at them.

"They're called gummy bears." I said and pinched a couple between my fingers.

He nearly choked. He slapped his hand over his mouth and his eyes bulged out of his head. "They're made out of bears?" He asked.

I started laughing. For some reason I found his reaction hilarious. I almost couldn't talk. "No." I giggled. "They're just in the shape of little bears!" I squeezed in between laughs.

He looked relieved. "Oh." He breathed and removed his hand from his mouth. He was smiling.

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" Draco said throwing a hand out at the screen.

The film was made some time in the eighties so it had poor special effects, and not to mention, magic that was nothing like magic at all. Draco was clearly becoming upset with the muggles' interpretation of witches and wizards and the magic world in general.

"It's funny." I said.

"It's ridiculous is what it is." He huffed.

It was cute to see him flustered.

What?

"I think it's funny that the muggles think witches are green and make large potions in giant cauldron in a dungeon." I said.

He smirked. "Okay, it is a little amusing." He admitted.

On the screen the green skinned witch was watching a man drink her potion, and suddenly he turned into a frog. I burst out laughing at the horrible effects and understandings. I turned to Draco and realized he was laughing too.

He noticed me and turned to meet my eyes. Slowly he stopped laughing until he was just grinning at me. I forced my eyes to stay focused on his pebble gray ones. I couldn't hear the telly anymore, only his breathing. Then suddenly I felt his hand on mine again, warm and soft. He reached up and brushed a strand of my hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. His hand slid from my ear to my chin and I felt his two fingers there.

My breathing became rapid and my heart tried to fly out of my chest. I could feel his warm breath on my face and in my hair. He pushed my chin up gently with his fingers and pressed his mouth down on mine. I closed my eyes. His lips were just as soft, if not softer, than I remembered them. I moved my hands to his torso and I could feel his stomach, hard, but not particularly muscly beneath his jumper. I pushed my hands up his chest and onto his shoulders as he raked his hand through my hair to cup the back of my head.

He kissed me harder. His tongue grazed my bottom lip and then his teeth nibbled at it sending shivers up my spine. Then I felt like I was falling. The world moved upwards around me and suddenly I was on my back on the bed and Draco was on top of me, kissing me hard. It felt so good. I felt okay with it. He moved his hands over my cheeks and then down onto my chest. I tasted his breath, like sugar, as he breathed deeply. His hands sent shivers through my body as they traveled down my stomach and onto my hips.

He stopped kissing my mouth and I felt his breath on my neck as he pecked and sucked his way from the bottom of my ear to my collar bones. There was a tug at the bottom of my jumper as his hands wiggled inside and grazed my stomach. I sucked in a deep breath as his fingers stroked my sides and he nibbled my neck.

I knew what he wanted next. I knew he wanted to go farther, but this was as far as I felt comfortable with. I brought my hands to his and slowly dragged them out of my shirt. If he really cared about me he would understand.

"Draco." I breathed and he pulled away from my neck to look down at me with his piercing eyes. "No more." I said, trying to make him understand that this was okay, just going farther wouldn't be.

He nodded and then planted one last lingering kiss on my lips before he crawled off of me and helped me sit up.

We watched the rest of the movie quietly. He had wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I leaned my head against his chest. I could hear his heart beat loudly. It was an odd thing to hear. It reminded me that he was human. That he was made of the same things as I was. And it was all I could think about, him being a living breathing person. I paid no attention to what was happening in the film anyway. I couldn't pay attention. I kept feeling his lips on my mouth and his fingers on my stomach and hoping that we were finally okay with each other. I felt great with what had happened. I hoped he did too.


	15. It's Okay

**A/N: ** First I want to say: **JK Rowling wrote a short chapter as an update on the Golden Trio and their friend's life as an article by Rita Skeeter!** If you haven't read that already you seriously need to check it out! It's not long but it gives me shivers of joy! It's on Pottermore .com, but you can basically find it anywhere. People also believe that it is hinting to another HP story, but I don't want to get my hopes up!

Thanks to my wonderful reviewers! I had a question about exchange of currency: although I never mentioned it, I always imagined them exchanging currency right before they were ready to leave London. Sorry about that! Someone also mentioned wanting to meet Hermione's parents: Don't worry, they are kind of a big part of this story so you will meet them eventually! And a special thanks to **TracelessQuill** for assuring me that my first chapter wasn't as bad as I thought it was!

**Warning!** This chapter contains mild forms of torture and some language. Nothing too bad, and definitely nothing that couldn't be put in a teen movie. (They're allowed to drop the occasional F-bomb so so am I!) If you feel like you won't be comfortable reading this, PM me and I will give you a summery of what happened! Also, if you read this and feel I should change the story rating let me know! I'm not really sure what everything should be!

You guys are so awesome! Thanks for keeping with me!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**It's Okay**

I woke with a start too early in the morning to the sound of a loud bang. It was dark in the room and hard to see. The telly was still on, casting odd shadows on the walls, so I figured that was where the bang had come from. The movie Draco and I had watched last night was playing through again and it was about at the part where the green skinned witch shoots 'magic' out of her finger, which results in loud noises.

We both must have fallen asleep on Draco's bed last night because, obviously that's where I still was. There was a warmth across my stomach and I felt something move. I looked down and saw that Draco's arm was draped over my abdomen. One of us must have pulled the blanket around us some time during the night because the bed was a mess and we were half covered by the light blue comforter.

Draco let out a deep breath that kissed my forehead and rustled through my curls. He wrapped his arm more tightly around me and pulled me even closer. I could feel his body heat radiating off of him and warming me to the core. I looked over at him. Coloured lights danced across his perfect skin and lit up his face just enough for me to make out his features. His long pale lashes, his smooth as cream lips, his light eyebrows, his perfect everything.

I reached up and let my fingers brush his angel hair from his face and then glide down to his cheek and outline his mouth. He was so peaceful, so calm, so different.

Suddenly I was staring into his striking sliver eyes. Embarrassed, I moved my hand quickly from his face, but I didn't look away. He smiled and reached up with his own hand to brush the hair from my face and do just as I had done to him. He looked at me like he was the happiest he'd ever been as he rubbed his finger gently around my lips.

"You're beautiful." He whispered, stroking my cheek with the tips of his fingers.

I retorted in shock. I blinked. I swallowed. My heart raced. My cheeks flushed. My hands shook. Draco Malfoy had just called me beautiful. I felt like I could cry. Ron had called me beautiful, but never like this. Never this sincere. I'd never believed that anyone found me _beautiful_ before now.

I felt a shocked smile curl my lips. Draco looked down at them, smiled himself, and then gave me a peck on the lips, sending little electric shocks to my heart. He wrapped both arms around my waist and pulled me in. He rested his cheek on my head and breathed in my hair. I closed my eyes and felt his wind play through my curls.

Suddenly he bolted up, his eyes wide and scared. "Shit!" He said.

"Draco, what's wrong?" I asked, worried.

He ignored me but kept staring over my head at something in the dark. I timidly followed his gaze to the dark corner to the left of the television. I squinted, trying to see what Draco saw, but I could only see the absence of light.

Then my blood ran cold as an icy voice spoke out of the darkness, "Oh, please continue!" It said almost cheerily. "Don't let us ruin all the fun!"

A dark figure started to emerge from the corner. My face had gone pale by the time I could make out the gruff features of an ex-Deatheater looming over Draco and I.

I looked around. The man had said 'us'. That meant there was more. Sure enough. Three more ex-Deatheaters stalked into view. My hand snapped to my pocket for my wand. With panic heavy in my throat, I realized it wasn't there. Had I left it in my room?

_Shit_.

They circled around us and moved in closer. I stood up quickly to make myself bigger, I don't know, hoping to intimidate them.

"Hermione..." Draco warned between grit teeth.

I didn't even know what I was going to do. His hand tugged on mine, urging me to stand down, but I shook him off and glared at each of the shadowy men snarling at us.

They just laughed at my stare, fueling my hate.

"Well, well, Draco!" The man with a black goatee snickered. "You've gotten yourself a girlfriend!"

"I'm not his girlfr-" I spat, but I was cut short.

The former Deatheater whipped his wand at me and a shot of blue sparks hit me in the chest and sent me flying back onto the bed. "I wasn't talking to you, was I, Mudblood?" He snarled back.

It didn't hurt, but I was in shock at the suddenness of it.

"HEY!" Draco roared. He stood up and reached for his wand, but the shorter Deatheater disarmed him as soon as it was out of his pocket and caught it effortlessly in his hand.

"Uh ah!" The bearded man teased. "Don't make us kill you yet, Draco!"

He snapped his fingers and two of the men walked to grab Draco. I recognized them from before in the woods.

"What the hell do you want?!" He yelled and batting off the Deatheaters' hands to no avail.

"You know what we want!" The man said. "At least, you know half of it." He added.

I stood up again, ready to fight, as the third ex-Deatheater came into my range. However, before I could throw a punch at him, he took out his wand and pointed it at me.

"Patrificus totalus." He said.

I felt my limbs lock. I strained my muscles against the magic, but all it got me was burning arms. I couldn't even move my face to glare at him. The beefy man caught me by the hair as I started to tip and fall to the ground.

"Should I kill the Mudblood?" He asked the Deatheater with the goatee in a thick German accent.

The other man regarded me quickly. He looked me up and down with disgust on his face. "No." He said slowly. "I have an idea." Smirking, he looked slyly from me to Draco who was watching me carefully. Then he aparated, leaving behind a cloud of black smoke where he had stood.

The Deatheater holding me aparated too, dragging me along. He was no where near as good at aparating as Draco was. I felt my head split as we landed somewhere rocky, I still couldn't move, but I could see we were standing near the edge of a very large cliff.

My body tried to shiver with the sudden coldness, but a twitch in my eye was all it could manage. The beefy Deatheater who was in charge of me, dragged my stiff body over to a dead tree close by. He propped my back against it and then took a few steps back and raised his wand. A rope spun out of the tip and wrapped it self around me and the tree so tightly I could hardly breath. When the end of the rope was reached, my entire abdomen was covered by the wretched thing.

I felt the patrificus totalus curse ware off. As soon as it left my face I let out a shrill scream and I thrashed my head in an effort to escape the bonds.

"That's right, Mudblood! Scream!" A gruff voice shouted at me.

I snapped my mouth shut in defiance and glared at Goatee as he looked at me with a smirk that made my blood boil. Behind him Draco was struggling with the two ex-Deatheaters who were forcing him to the spot. The bigger one swept his hand up quickly and socked Draco right in the nose. I let out a small cry when I heard it crack and blood started to pool down his face.

"Let her go!" Draco yelled between pants. "This has nothing to do with her!"

The man in front of me turned around to face him, most likely smiling widely. "I know." He said calmly and knowingly. "That's why it will hurt you all the more when I do this!"

A burn spread up my legs and through me chest. I clenched my jaw, trying not to scream. My body was on fire! Invisible flames lapped at my legs and scorched my face. I whimpered and pushed my chin in the air as if it would help me escape the pain. I started sweating which only made it worse. The salty solution seemed to flow into invisible sores and burn me that way. My eyes felt dry and irritated. I closed them, hoping to bring moisture there, but it only continued to burn.

"STOP!" I heard Draco yell. "STOP IT!"

Suddenly I felt the coolness rush back to my skin and I welcomed the shivers, with open arms if I could have. The chill caught the beads of sweat on my face and eased my skin of the memories of the burning. I breathed hard. The struggling wore me out, and if I wasn't careful, that's what would hurt me worse than the torture.

"What's the matter, young Malfoy?" The Deatheater amusingly asked him. "Dose it hurt you to watch her writhe?"

Draco simply glared at him. His eyes where wild with anger and the blood running down his face made him look mad. His arms were held to his sides by the two ex-Deatheaters, but he didn't try to struggle. He just clenched his jaw and glared.

This angered Goatee. He stormed over to Draco and got very close to his face so that their noses where almost touching. "I said," He said loudly but calmly although he was shaking with anger. "Does it hurt you to watch the Mudblood writhe?!" His voice rising to a shout.

Then he bawled up his hand and buried his fist into Draco's stomach. I felt sick as Draco let out an 'oof' and he tried to double over, but the men holding his arms wouldn't allow it.

"DOES IT HURT MORE THAN THAT?!" Goatee yelled in Draco's scrunched and bloodied face.

His fist then connected to the side of Draco's left eye and it started to swell almost immediately.

"DOES IT HURT MORE THAN THAT?!" He yelled again.

I wiggled in my bonds, wishing I could do something to stop the crazed man.

"HOW ABOUT THIS?!" His fist clipped Draco's chin and I heard Draco's first moan of pain escape his lips.

It killed me to watch him just dangle between the Deatheaters and not even try to defend himself.

"ANSWER ME, MALFOY!" He split Draco's lip and the blood from that started to mingle with the blood from his nose.

"YES!" Draco finally called out. "YES! IT HURTS!" He admitted.

The Deatheater brought down his fists and grabbed Draco's chin so he would look up at him. "Good." I heard him sneer.

He took a step back from Draco and paced the spot in front of him for a moment. He ran his wand over his bloody knuckles and they healed quickly without the slightest sign that they had been bruised. I looked past him to where Draco stood limp and bleeding. He looked up slightly and our eyes connected. He didn't say a word, but I heard him loud enough.

_It's okay._

Goatee stopped pacing and marched to Draco again. I cringed in fear that I would have to watch Draco take another beating.

"Do you know why I'm doing this?" He asked calmly.

Draco didn't answer right away. I sucked in a gasp as I saw the ex-Deatheater coil his fist again.

"Because I killed my father." Draco said quickly.

I shook my head. That wasn't true. He didn't kill his father. He had to tell them that he didn't kill his father! "Draco!" I yelled to tell him.

Goatee flicked his wand at me and a force, like a giant fist smacked me in the face. My head flew back and and connected with the tree trunk I was tied to.

"No." He said to Draco. "When I kill you that will be because you killed your father." He crouched down so he would be more level with Draco's face. "I'm doing this because of what you _took away_ when you killed your father."

"That bastard wasn't worth anything!" Draco growled.

"Oh, but he was! But I suppose you don't know do you?!"

Draco glanced up at him with hate in his eyes.

The ex-Deatheater chuckled. "Your father had a plan, you see. He wouldn't tell us what it was and he wouldn't right it down for fear it would land in the wrong hands. Your father was rather clever! He told us he'd found one last way to bring back The Dark Lord, maybe." He snickered again. "I'm not sure I believed him. I'm not sure most of us did. But there was still this hope among us, you know? For the first time in three years we felt untouchable again. Lucius told us we had to wait for the right conditions to arise. And so we waited patiently for those promised conditions to come. We remained quiet and hidden from traitorous scum like you and we grew more excited with each day that passed. Oh, The Dark Lord was going to be so proud of us when he returned! We would finally be able to walk freely again!" He stopped smiling. "And then we got the news that Lucius was dead. He was killed by his own _fucking__ son!_" He spat in Draco's face and growled.

He turned around to face me. My eyes were wide in horror of the news I'd just heard. I realized that bringing back Voldemort must have been what Draco's parents had been fighting about that night. Why would Luscious Malfoy throw himself off a cliff after he had found away to to bring Voldemort back? Had it been out of hate for himself and what he had done to his family? Had he realized he plan wouldn't work? Had he realized he didn't want his plan to work?

Goatee walked to me and grabbed my face with his slimy fingers. He stood to the side so that Draco could see I was at the Deatheater's disposal. "Your father must be rolling in his grave!" He said to Draco laughing. "A mudblood?!" He asked in disbelief.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" I growled.

He laughed again. "Filthy?!" He said amused. "Sorry to break it to you, but your the filthy one!" He squeezed my face tighter. "Speaking of filth, let's see some of that dirty blood, shall we?"

He swiped his wand in front of my face and I gasped feelinf something cut deep into my cheek. Warm, sticky blood poured out and ran down my neck. I kept my head high, like I wasn't hurt.

"Leave her alone!" Draco growled.

"No." The ex-Deatheater simply remarked and he slashed my face again on the bridge of my nose.

Blood leaked from there too and ran down my face and into my mouth. My cold sweat mixed with the cuts for real now and made it burn again. I clenched my teeth and stared forward, determined not to give the man the reaction he wanted.

"Crusio." He said simply.

My head split and my spine contorted even with the bounds. I was back in the forest again. The ropes seemed to tighten. There was fire in my lungs and knives in my sides and hammers were beating the rest of me. I grunted and struggled. Involuntary tears slipped out of my eyes and mixed with the sweat and blood.

"STOP!" Draco yelled.

"Jump off the cliff." The Deatheater said.

I opened my eyes in horror as I watched the other two Deatheaters release Draco and he stumble to stand my himself. He grabbed the one's black jacket to stop himself from hitting the ground. Then he looked at us and ran at the Deatheater and me.

The pain stopped momentarily as Goatee moved his wand to put up and invisible barrier that would stop Draco from coming farther. He ran into it and beat on it with his fists.

The Deatheater raised his wand to me again and I felt needles shoot into my back and stones thrown at my head.

"Jump off the cliff." He said more harshly this time.

Draco stopped moving and stared at me with the saddest eyes I'd ever seen. The eyes that said he was done. The eyes that said he was sorry, there was nothing more he could do.

I did my best to ignore the pain. I needed to tell him to stop. My teeth were being pulled out of my mouth and my fingernails were peeling away.

He turned away from me and headed to the edge of the cliff.

"Draco!" I finally got out. A kitchen peeler skinned my arms.

He didn't turn to look at me. He just looked down to the abyss below him.

"DON'T!" I screamed. Tears streamed out of my eyes. I probably looked like total wreck.

Fire. Ice. Knives. Hammers. Saws. Needles. All of it inside my skin at once.

He turned and gave me one last look. He said nothing, but I could hear his voice load and clear.

_It's okay._

* * *

**A/N: **Just thought I'd say here that I know how much that one line sounds like Draco's exact words in _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_ (You know the line)It was a little bit on purpose. :D


	16. The Miracle

**A/N: **Thanks for the wonderful reviews I got on last chapter! Special thanks to **Saphire** who let me know that my first chapter, again, isn't as horrible as I think. Thanks for the encouragement! To **Dana524** for making me laugh with your cliff joke! (Check it out in the comments). And to **PotterGirl412** for making me feel incredible after reading your comments!

Just thought I'd say that if any of you feel the content rating should be higher or lower than what it is please let me know via comments or PM.

Okay! Thanks again for your support through reviews! Please continue!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**The Miracle **

Nothing. That's what I felt has Draco stepped off the cliff. I didn't feel the pain ripping through me. I didn't feel the tight ropes or the blood on my face. I didn't feel sadness or devastation or hate. I felt nothing.

Then, as the top of his angel hair disappeared over the edge, it all came rushing back onto me like a huge wave. I stood in shock. My chest ripped open and I just let the tears pour down my face. I realized all the things I should have said to Draco. I realized that I should have told him I forgave him, that it wasn't all his fault, that I was sorry, that I trusted him now, that he was beautiful. On and on and on. It hurt my head.

The Deatheater had lowered his wand from me, but I continued to feel pain. I shook desperately. I'd watched so many people die in the war, but I had hoped I'd never have to again.

There was a sickening crack that could be faintly heard as Draco's body collided with the ground beneath. All I could think about was how stupid he was. So stupid! He'd been so selfless. He jumped off for me. He jumped off so they would stop hurting me. Why did he have to do that? Why did he have to be so stupid?! Why did he have to be so selfless?!

My eyes burned as tears pooled out of them. My legs went limp so that the ropes were the only things holding me up. I bowed my head and let my hair shade my face from the hateful men around me.

The ropes around my abdomen started to loosen. With surprise, I locked my legs so that I wouldn't fall to the ground and look weak. I shook the hair from my face and opened my eyes to stare with fury at the ex-Deatheaters. The beefy one had out his wand and the rope was retreating back into it. When it was all gone I stood where I was and watched them carefully. I willed them to just do what they were going to do and get it over with.

"Can I kill the Mudblood now?" The man with the accent asked.

Goatee regarded me lazily. His eyes skimmed over my bloodied face and my wrecked body. He knew I wasn't a threat to him anymore. There was nothing I could do. But I was a Mudblood. And that was reason enough for him. "Ya. Kill her." He said and then walked to the other two Deatheaters.

I stared at the beefy man as he raised his wand and smiled at me. I didn't run or hide or defend myself. I don't think I could have if I'd tried. I just stared at his beady black eyes and his yellowing teeth and short bristly hair as if to say _make it quick_. Then I closed my eyes and waited for whatever death would be.

And waited.

And waited.

I was getting angry. He was doing this just to torture me.

There was a quiet 'oomf' and a dull knock. I opened my eyes and searched for where the noise had come from. I realized that the beefy man was no longer standing in front of me. He was lying on the ground, looking dazed and slightly frightened.

My eyes grew wide and I let out a quiet gasp of fear and surprise. Wiping blood and tears from my eyes, I knelt down to study the man and maybe find out what had happened. He looked perfectly normal, other than that he was already hideous. His eyes where open and moving like he'd fallen down and forgotten how to stand back up.

"HEY!" A Deatheater yelled.

I looked over, expecting to see them all coming at me. But they weren't even looking at me. My heart leaped clear to my throat. I felt like I could faint. Tears sprung out of my eyes again, but they were joyful. It was like I was seeing a ghost, and maybe I was, I wanted to but I couldn't believe it.

I stayed were I was and watched the miracle unfold. I wanted to laugh at the Deatheaters confused and frightened faces, but I was too dumbfounded myself!

"Draco!" I yelled, finally finding my words. "How did you-"

"No time to explain, Hermione!" He yelled. I wanted to cry at the voice I thought I would never hear again. "A little help would be nice!" He added as he ducked a Deatheater's curse and shot one of his own.

My hands shook with excitement as I fumbled to get the wand out of the Deatheater before me's hand. His fat fingers were curled tightly around it. I grunted and yanked hard, not really caring if I broke his fingers to get at it.

I held it in front of me as I stood up. It was short and surprisingly heavy, which I found a little difficult to get used too. I looked over to Draco again who was, not so gracefully, trying to take on the three other wizards. He was ducking and dodging and shooting furiously. A green spell shot out of his wand and kicked Goatee in the arm. There was a crack, like it might be broke, but other than a wince and an angry shot at Draco, he showed no sign of pain.

I raised the wand and threw a well aimed curse at the bigger man. It knocked him in the chest and he fell backward. I meant to hit his head, but he stayed on the ground long enough for me to focus on the skinny and sickly Deatheater. I shot a spell at him, but he noticed in time and deflected it. He threw one back and I ran out of the way and close to Draco.

He was panting heavily and straining against a protection shield as curse after curse bounced off. We were outnumbered, but Draco was an auror and I'd won a war. And little by little we were circling our way around the three so that their backs were against the edge of the cliff. I glanced at Draco, trying to meet his eyes so that I could point out the advantage to him. There was sweat rolling down his face and mixing with the dried blood. The sleeves of his jumper were rolled up to reveal his milky arms and faded Dark Mark. Then I noticed the wand he was holding. _M_y wand! How in the world had Draco gotten _my_ wand.

I didn't have much time to think. A blue spell just missed my head. I quickly disarmed the bigger man who was now on his feet. The wand in his hand shot out to the side and Draco took the opportunity to blast him. He stumbled backward and fell right off the side of the cliff.

I looked at Draco horrified. Again, I had hoped that I wouldn't have to see more death.

He glanced at me and saw my wide and upset eyes. "Hermione, I had to!" He yelled and protected both of us with a shield. "Do you think you could do that again?" He asked.

I nodded and stepped away from the shield to disarm Goatee. The wand flew out of his hand, but before Draco could knock him off the cliff he'd taken Draco's wand out of his pocket and fired it at me. The spell hit me on the shoulder and I stumbled backward. I heard him curse and look down at the wand, obviously not used to the way it handled. Draco seized his moment of bewilderment and accioed his wand. It slipped quickly and easily from the Deatheater's hand and shot right into Draco's outstretched palm.

He tossed me my wand and used his to smack the Deatheater in the head as he tried to run away. Draco was much better with his own wand and I was much better with mine. I shot a curse at Goatee as he fell to the ground. It hit him somewhere on the torso and pushed him right to the edge. He flailed his arms and tried to grab something before he fell, but he was moving too fast.

Then it was just Draco and me and the skinny ex-Deatheater. He looked frightened and in shock and he didn't move to hit us with a spell. He just looked down the cliff behind him and then aparated just as Draco blasted a curse at him. It hit him in the head, but he was gone before he could hit the ground.

I turned to Draco. He was panting with his hands on his knees. I felt the sudden urge to curse him myself for the scare he'd given me.

"Draco!" I yelled at him. He looked at me and smiled at the frazzled look on my face. "You bloody idiot!" I furiously wiped the blood from my face as he stood up strait, not looking phased by my insults at all. Actually, looking quite pleased with them. "I thought you were dead!" I felt tears prick at my eyes again. "How-"

He cut me off by grabbing me and pulling me in for a kiss. His mouth pressed into mine and his arm around my waist kept me tight against his body. My frustrations melted away and I closed my eyes. I could have stood there for ever. His arm around my waist like it was meant to be there. Our mouths pressed together but our lips too tired to move.

I pulled away and rested my head on his chest. He breathed in my hair and kissed my neck, sending shivers down my spine, and then rested his chin on my head.

"Draco?" I whispered and took a deep breath of his smell that hung heavily on his jumper.

"Hmm?" He breathed.

I could feel his vocal cords vibrate in his chest. "How did you do it?"

He laughed and pulled me so that I was out in front of him and he could look down at me. "You know, I might just keep this to myself!" He teased. "I mean, how often is it that I know something Hermione Granger doesn't know?!"

I huffed at him and crossed my arms, but I couldn't help but smile. "Just tell me!" I begged.

"It's killing you isn't it?!" He laughed.

I grabbed his shirt. "Draco Malfoy!" I said forcefully. "You tell me right now!"

He held up his hands in mock defense. "Okay! Your such a Gryffindor!" He said playfully and took a deep breath. "I took your wand from your pocket in the hotel room and used it to aparate after I jumped."

I looked at him in shock. He was still amazing under all the blood. "You took my wand right out of my pocket?!" I screeched.

"It's not like I could ask you for it." He said brushing some curls out of my face.

He brought up his wand to heal the cuts on my face. "Don't bother." I said putting my hand on his and lowing his wand. "They were put there by magic, I'll use some of the left over Dittany."

He nodded and I raised my own wand to his face. I ignored his stare and moved my wand back and forth to heal his wounds. The blood from his lip and nose retreated back into his skin and the cuts closed and the bruising and swelling went down. Finally he looked like his normal flawless self again.

"Thanks." He whispered, still looking lovingly at my face. "We should get going."

"What about him?" I asked pointing to the Beefy Deatheater that was still lying on the ground by the tree.

"We could just leave him to rot here." He said simply.

I raised my eyebrows. "Draco, that's cruel!" I gasped.

"And what they did to you isn't?" He asked sincerely.

I shook my head. "We still can't do that. At least push him off the cliff. That would be quicker."

Draco relented and used his wand to float the man over to the edge. He held him there steadily so that his entire body was far over the edge and it would be a strait shot down.

"Lets be gone before he hits the bottom." I said grabbing Draco's hand. I didn't want to have to hear or see the life leave him.

"Okay." He said and squeezed my hand gently. "Ready?"

I got out my wand and braced myself to aparate. Swallowing I nodded.

The man dropped and I aparated us quickly back to the inn.


	17. Promises

**A/N:**

**Warning!** This chapter contains some serious Dramione fluff! :D Read at your own risk!

Thanks again for the wonderful reviews from the wonderful people who post them! You know who you are!

You should all tell your fellow Dramione shippers about this story so that hopefully we can break 150 reviews by the end! Almost to 100 now and I plan on there being about 25-30 chapters (don't hate me if there is more or less) so I think we can do it!

Okay, this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but has tons of Dramione action that's probably super cheesy but I don't care because it's cute!

Anyway. Remember to review!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**Promises **

Ah. Kazakhstan. The country that made you think you were taking a step into the past and then suddenly bombard you with skyscrapers and coming of age technology.

A full week since my second encounter with the ex-Deatheaters, and winter had finally decided to push through with a light snowy dusting. And it was bloody _freezing!_ I rubbed my gloved hands together and blew into the fabric to warm my nose and mouth. Despite the multiple layers, light purple hat, mittens, scarf, and white button-up coat, I couldn't seem to escape the chill. I was really regretting not casting a warming spell on myself before having to sit in front of all these muggles.

I was on a cold stone bench right in the middle of Astana, Kazakhstan, a city that was positively brimming with modern-day buildings and structures. I shivered as I watched the swarms of people move past me with stern faces and heads bowed against the winter wind. Why was I sitting there? I don't really know. I was supposed to be waiting for none other than Draco Malfoy, but he seemed to be gone forever.

The crisp wind smacked at my face, turning my cheeks bright red. Where was he?! We'd aparated in a lonely alley earlier and hand in hand we moved to this very spot where he told me to wait and then left. I was going to wring his pale neck for leaving me this long!

I looked up into the river of dull faces once again. The ebony heads bobbed with their bodies' movements like ripples in a black lake. My heart skipped a beat and I stood excitedly, noticing a flash of white, angel hair among them. I craned my neck to see Malfoy shoving his way through the crowd and trying not to get swept away by the current. In his hands, that were gloved by two plain black mittens, were little white containers. From this far away it almost looked as though he was carrying blocks of snow.

When he got closer I could see that his ivory face was broken with splotches of bright red on his nose and cheeks and that there was steam rising from the two figures in his hand. He sat down next to me and handed me a white cup, taking a sip from his own.

"Coffee!" I yelled. "That's what took you so long!" My words were jumbled from my frozen lips. I sat down and took a drink and instantly felt my stomach grow warmer.

The rest of he grew much warmer though, when Draco slid his arm over my shoulders and snuggled in next to me.

"You wouldn't believe how hard it is to order a coffee here." He said. "They made me talk into this little box that somehow changed everything I said to Russian."

"How horrible." I teased, draping my arm around his waist. "You had to stand in a warm building and talk into a box."

"No. It wasn't very warm." He squeezed me closer when he felt me shiver. "Bloody muggles kept opening the door!" He took a drink of his coffee and I smiled at his frustration. "I got you the right kind didn't I?" He asked gesturing to the cup in my hands.

"Caramel cappuccino?" I asked taking a drink. It tasted a little different, but I assumed that was because of the change of country and culture.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment. Why did it feel so right to be snuggled up to Draco Malfoy? Why did, no matter how close I got, I still wanted closer to him? It was odd to me. I felt like I should hate him, but I couldn't. He wasn't how I remembered him, and lately, I was beginning to question if I was remembering everything right. Because I remembered hating him to no end, but now I liked him. I really, really liked him.

I felt Draco quiver against the crisp air. "Why are we sitting here in the freezing cold?" I asked, shaking myself

"Because," He said setting down his cup and wrapping both arms around me. "I don't have a good reason to hold you like this where it's warm."

My face lit on fire and I could imagine my cheeks growing even redder. What a flirt.

* * *

Draco opened the door to my room for me. We'd made our way to a hotel which wasn't easy considering that everything was in Russian. I'd found out that the 'box' Draco said he had to talk into was actually a mobile with a translator. We had to speak into one so the man at the front desk could understand what we needed.

Draco waltzed in after me and shut the door. We had managed to get two separate rooms again, but I was glad that he wasn't going to his just yet. He took of his coat and mittens and used his wand to hang them on a wire hanger by the door. I took off mine and did the same, my face still numb from the wintry air.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked and moved closer to me.

I raised my eyebrows and stared at him questioningly. "Maybe..."

He reached out and put his hands on my waist. I leaned against the wall behind me and Draco moved closer so that his warm breath melted my face. He smelled like coffee. I moved my hands over his torso, feeling his small muscles under his gray shirt. I curled my fingers around the fabric on his shoulders and held on like I'd never let go. He bowed his head so that our foreheads were touching. Now I felt incredibly warm.

"You remember the night when the Deatheaters found us in the inn?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm trying to forget." I replied.

"Well, you remember how the one called you my girlfriend and you yelled that you weren't?"

I narrowed my eyes, suspicious at where this was going. "Yes..."

He reached over into his coat and took out a light pink flower and held it between us. "I was hoping that could change?"

I looked down at the beautiful flower and took it in my hands. It made my heart swell so far I thought it would pop in my chest. I caressed the petals with my fingers and felt that it was only plastic.

"I wanted to get you a real flower." He said, putting his hand on mine around the stem. "But it was a little late for that. I know you like Dandelions, but again, not many around. So I got you my favorite flower instead."

I looked up from the flower and into his big grey eyes. "I thought you didn't have a favorite flower?" I said.

"Well I found out what it is." He smiled. "It's called an English Rose, or, as I prefer it, a Gentle Hermione."

"Do you just like it because of the name?" I asked, my face nearly splitting with a smile.

"No." He looked down at the flower and stroked the plastic petals. "I like it because it's beautiful and delicate and soft and smells wonderful..."

He continued and I didn't think he was talking about the flower anymore. I could have cried. I gabbed his shirt forcefully and drove my lips up into his, muffling his last words. He stood surprised for a moment and then melted down into me. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulled me closer and pressed his mouth down on mine.

I felt his tongue tickle my bottom lip and then his teeth nipped playfully at it. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck to force him closer. I wanted him closer. Closer. His warm hands moved inside the bottom of my shirt sending ripples of goose bumps across my stomach. He moved his palms over my back and up to the back of my shoulders.

He kissed me forcefully and meaningfully so that my head spun and my legs almost couldn't support my weight. I breathed heavily as he sucked my lip and pressed his tongue on my mouth. His hands set my shoulders on fire and I thought I would faint when he started rubbing his fingers gently over my bare flesh.

His kisses drove me crazy. His hands traveled back down my torso and past my hips. He wrapped his arms under my bottom and picked me up, with my back against the wall for balance. I hugged his waist with my legs and moved my hands down to his chin so I could force his face up into mine. He kissed the corner of my mouth and along my jaw line.

"Is that a yes?" He said breathlessly. "Are you my girlfriend now, Granger?"

I grinned and nodded.

He slid me down the wall and pressed his lips onto my forehead, taking a deep breath of my hair.

"Then I have something else for you." He whispered, his breath running down my face.

He reached into his pocket and brought out a little black box. I looked at it quizzically as he opened it and took out a silver band.

"I believe the muggles do something like this." He said fingering it. "A promise band I think."

I nodded beaming.

He pointed to a small engraving on it: ТОЛЬКО МОИ it said. "It means only mine. I got it in Russian so that we would remember this happening here."

My chest cracked open and my heart jumped to my throat. I grabbed him in a hug. "Thank you!" I whispered.

When I let go my eyes were brimming with tears again. I held out my hand and he slipped it on my finger

"Do you have one?" I asked.

He held his hand in front of me and on his finger was an identical silver band with the same inscription.

I grinned. "You were that confident that I would agree with this?!" I teased.

"No." He admitted. "But I was going to wear it anyway. I can't get you out of my head, Hermione. I think about you so much that there isn't enough thoughts about you for anyone else to think. And even if you would have said you still weren't ready for this I wouldn't stop thinking about you. And you still would have been 'only mine' because I wouldn't let anyone else have you until I was sure we weren't meant to be together."

"Stop it Draco." I breathed. "You're going to make me cry."

He pulled me in and our lips connected once more.


	18. Surprise!

**A/N: ** Okay! Chapter 18! Our favorite (or at least mine) couple are almost to Australia which means that the story is slowly coming to a close. *Tear*

Thank's so much for your wonderful reviews on last chapter and I apologize for taking a while to post this one. You see, I've been working a bit on my own novel. And I had a bit of writers block. So this chapter is a little short, but I needed something to get me rolling again. Make sure to review to keep me a-rollin'! :D (If we get 10 more reviews we will break 100!)

I love you all so much I'd squeeze everyone of you if I could!

But enough babbling, read, my lovelies!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**Surprise!**

Two months since I began this journey with Draco had passed. Draco and I had been officially 'dating' for about a month. In about one week we would be in Australia. There had been no signs of Deatheaters since our last encounter. We'd moved rather smoothly through China and were now hopping the islands of Indonesia. It was warm there, south of the boarder. And I couldn't be happier. For the first time in a long time everything seemed to be going right. Draco and I felt so good together that I simply threw what I remembered about him out the door. I didn't think about what would happen when I found my parents and we went back to England. It never crossed my mind how I would explain to everyone why I'd left with Draco Malfoy for two months and come back with his arm around my waist and his promise ring on my finger. I'd tossed it all aside to worry about later. But later was coming, and sooner than I'd thought.

* * *

"Draco stop! It's freezing!" I yelled as another splash of water smacked my tee shirt.

"Just get in!" He hollered back.

I stood bare foot on the beach in my shorts and tee shirt just in front of the water. Draco was knee deep in the sea and trying to convince me to come in.

I shook my head and giggled as a wave crashed in and knocked him over. He stood up quickly and scowled at the water which made me laugh harder. Smiling he looked back at me again. I sucked in my breath as my eyes scanned his white shirt that now clung to his skin and showed off his sculpted chest and hard stomach. His hair fell down in his face in that perfect way that I knew he hated.

Smirking, he tiptoed out of the water and towards me. I watched him carefully as he made his way slowly towards me, his eyes locked on mine the whole while. He was about a metre away when he shot out his arms and ran at me.

I had no time to react before he grabbed me around the wast and threw me over his shoulder.

"No!" I screeched as he ran back into the water.

Then he must have tripped because we both went tumbling down in the cold salty sea. He landed on top of me laughing and both of us now soaked. I shivered not just from the chill, but from the feeling of his leg touching mine and his laughing face above me.

He rolled off as another wave crashed onto us and he held out his hand to help me up. I took it thankfully and stood up. He curled his fingers between mine and rubbed his smooth thumb on the back of my hand. The sea foam tickled our bare legs and I took his other hand too.

He stared into my eyes making me get lost in his beautiful grey ones. I realized something in that moment that terrified me. Did I love Draco Malfoy? Did I _love_ Draco Malfoy?! Can you go from hating someone to loving someone? I felt like I could spend the rest of my life with Draco and never feel differently. Was that love? I felt like I could be trapped forever with just Draco and never wish I was with someone else. Is that what love felt like? I felt like I would do anything for Draco and never regret it. Was I in love?

I shook the thought from my mind. It scared me too much to think about it. Love or not, the emotion I felt was the most powerful thing that ever passed through me. I never felt it with Krum or Cormac or even Ron. It was _so powerful_.

Draco pushed his chest on mine and bent his head so that our lips were almost touching and I could taste his breath in my mouth. I tried to calm my breathing. How many times had I done this, and I was still nervous every time we kissed.

I thought about our first time on the bridge in Germany. I thought about how his lips were so soft I almost couldn't tell if they were lips at all. But every time he kissed me after was just as good if not better. He was so passionate about the way he moved his mouth and tongue it made my head spin and my knees buckle every time.

I closed my eyes and felt his body pressed on mine, both of us soaked to the bone. I heard him as he panted from the running and tripping he'd just done. I could smell his cologne and hair jell and soap. I could taste his breath on my tongue. His lips brushed over mine ever so gently.

"Hermione?"

I ripped away from him. That wasn't Draco's voice, but it was horrifyingly familiar.

"Holy shit!" The same voice yelled.

I turned to the beach and almost fainted.

There, looking fashionably as always, was Analiza. But the scariest part was that she wasn't alone. Behind her were three more gawking faces.

A lump caught in my throat and I painfully swallowed it.

"What... what are you doing here?!" I asked breathlessly.

"What the bloody hell were you doing with him?!" Ron yelled, throwing a finger at Draco.

Here it was. Later. Later had come way too soon. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to react. I just stood there, humiliated and frightened and shocked. I looked over at Draco, but he was just as shocked as I was.

"Weaslebe?" Draco stammered. "Potter? Did you ask them to come, Hermione?"

"No!" I said, still trying to figure everything out myself.

"Hermione?! Since when do you call her Hermione, Malfoy?!" Ron yelled and started charging forward.

"Ron!" Ginny reached out and grabbed his arm before he could come closer.

"Let me explain." I said walking out of the water.

"Please do!" Ron yelled. "Because it looked like you were about to snog Malfoy!"

"Ron, calm down." Harry said gently, but staring just as questionably at me.

I glanced at Ginny who looked confused but also had the 'I told you so' look in her eye, then at Analiza who didn't look as much confused, but excited.

"What are you doing here?" I asked again.

"You can't really just leave us a letter saying your going to find your parents in Australia and expect us to do nothing about it!" Harry said. "We're your friends, Hermione! Except for her, I don't really know who she is." He pointed to Analiza.

She rolled her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm Hermione's flat mate!" She yelled. "And that's the hot guy Hermione brought home to the apartment!" She said pointing at Draco.

Ron's eyes practically bulged out of his head. "Malfoy was in your apartment?!" He hollered. "Bloody hell Hermione!"

"Ron! I can explain!" I yelled again. But I had no idea how I was going to do just that.

"What's the matter Weasley?" Draco spoke up. "Jealous?"

"Draco!" I yelled back at him between grit teeth.

Ron's face went bright red and I could almost see steam rising out of his ears. "MALFOY!" He screamed and grabbed his wand from his pocket.

Harry disarmed him before he could throw any curses at Draco and told him again to calm down.

"I'll calm down as soon as someone explains what the hell is going on!" He yelled his fist balled at his sides. "First Harry tells me you left for Australia! Then this Witch says you were with some bloke! And now I catch you snogging Malfoy!" He glared at me and Draco, probably trying to decide which one of us to be really mad at.

"Draco was helping me find my parents, Ronald!" I said glaring right back.

"Is that how he's helping you? With his mouth?!"

"You wouldn't understand!" I snapped back.

"SO ENLIGHTEN ME!" He roared.

I stepped down and watched Ron. I'd never seen him this mad before. He was positively fuming.

"Ron, maybe we should give Hermione some time to explain." Harry said carefully, placing a hand on his back.

He shook Harry's hand off his shoulder but didn't say anything.

"Here." I said stepping forward. "Maybe we should go back to the hotel and we can talk-"

"Bloody hell!" Ron yelled again. "You rented a hotel with Malfoy?"

"Ron!" Ginny shot. "Cut it out!"

"Draco." Harry said, finally addressing him. "Would you and Hermione mind showing us to your hotel?"

Harry'd always been so civil to everyone that it didn't really shock me that he called Draco by his first name. Harry had so easily forgiven him at the end of the war and they worked together, occasionally according to Draco.

I looked back to see Draco nod and start out of the water.

* * *

"So let me get this strait." Ron said. He'd calmed down but was still furious. "You and Malfoy are a thing now?!"

He sat forward in the leather chair in my hotel room and put his head in his hands.

Draco and I had tried to explain as best we could to the four what was happening. Ginny and Analiza had both exclaimed their own versions of 'I knew it!' or 'I told you so!' and Harry had simply nodded. However, Ron was still fuming at the thought of Draco and I being together. I could see why he would be upset to find out his friend was now dating his one time enemy, but I couldn't understand why he was so angry. Him and I both had agreed years ago that we weren't right for each other and I'd always hoped he'd be happy for me when I found some one I was happy with. I always knew I'd be happy for him.

"Ron." I said, placing a hand on his back. "Please be happy for me." I begged. "Please be happy that I'm happy."

He looked up at me with his sad chocolate eyes. "I am happy that your happy, Hermione." He said. I looked shocked. "But I won't be happy that your happy with him." He added.

I sighed and nodded. It was probably as good as it was going to get for now. I hoped that if Draco and I lasted, Ron would eventually accept it. But that was all I could do for now, hope.


	19. Like Family

**A/N: **!Reached 100 reviews! Special extra thanks to **bababooski** for posting the 100th review! Thank you all so much! Your all so wonderful! Please keep it up!

Little short, but I was at the perfect stopping point, so.

Read, review, follow, favorite!

With love,

Wren Gebel

* * *

**Like Family**

"Stop it, Ronald!" I shrieked for the hundredth time. "You are acting like a child!"

Draco had made the mistake of giving me a peck on my forehead before leaving for his own room that night, although, I have my suspicions that he intentionally did it in front of Ron. Ron had flew out of his chair and smacked Draco with a couple curses before Harry could disarm him and calm him down a bit. He'd been surprisingly calm while everyone conversed, but he was letting his fury fly now. Thankfully, Draco had escaped with only a coupled bruises and was now safely in his room.

"I can't let him touch you like that!" He yelled back.

I was afraid we'd get kicked out of the hotel so I put a silencing charm on the room because I knew there was going to be more yelling.

"_I_ decide how he touches me! _Not _you!" I felt uncomfortable saying those words, but I had to make Ron realize that he didn't have control over me.

"So now you don't care what I think?!"

Harry and Ginny looked uneasily between us and I think Analiza was deciding whether or not to defend me.

"Of coarse I do!" I said.

"No you don't!" He bawled his fists, but I wasn't worried for myself. I knew he would never hurt me. It was Draco I was worried about. "If you cared you would have told us where you were going! You would have told us before you left! You would have told us about Malfoy and his information and sneaky ways! You would have told us, Hermione. You would have told me." His voice faltered.

It grew scary quiet as we glowered at each other. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ginny grab Harry's hand and Analiza start to nibble her nails. I could feel myself go red in the face and I started shaking in fury.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you would act just like this." I said between clenched teeth.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Ron asked sincerely. "Or were you going to keep me in the dark? Was I ever going to know that you had gone to find your parents and about you and Malfoy and about the Deatheaters?" His voice was hoarse like he was holding back tears.

I felt them start to crawl out of my eyes too. Had I planned on telling Ron? I knew he would eventually find out, mostly because Analiza can't keep her mouth shut, but did I ever actually plan on telling him?

"Ron," I whispered, but he didn't give me time to finish.

He pushed past me hurriedly and slammed the door behind him. I sprang into tears and plopped down on the bed next to Analiza with my face in my hands. Harry stood and headed to the door.

"I'll make sure he doesn't do anything foolish." He said.

Ginny rubbed my back as I cried. I was so angry at Ron! Why couldn't he get it?

"It's okay." Ginny said. "He'll come 'round."

I hoped so.

"Let's do something to get your mind off it." Analiza suggested.

I nodded. "Like what?"

"Do you have any cards?"

* * *

"So, what are you going to do when you find your parents?" Ginny said slapping down a card on the deck and picking up two more. She obviously knew what she was doing, but none of the rest of us did. Apparently it was a game from her childhood, so Harry, Analiza, and I, growing up with mostly muggles, had never heard of it.

I'd wiped the tears from my eyes about twenty minutes ago and Harry had come back from making sure Ron was in his own room and calm.

"Well," I put down a card and hesitated before taking another and then giving one to Harry. "I'm going to restore their memories, obviously."

"That's a pretty difficult spell, Hermione. Are you sure you can do it?" Harry asked, taking a card from the pile and making a face.

"I've been practicing it ever since the war ended. I just needed to find them was all."

"What are you going to tell them?" Ginny asked, taking three cards from Analiza and laying two of them on the pile.

"The truth, I guess." I bit my lip in frustration. I didn't understand the game, but I could tell I was loosing.

Ginny threw down her two cards that were left and raised her fists in the air. "I won!" She exclaimed.

Analiza smacked down her cards and huffed. "Ginny, this game sucks!"

"You just don't like it because you lost." She said gathering the cards and stacking them.

"Actually, Ginny, Love, It's a little difficult to understand." Harry said placing a hand on her shoulder.

I smiled at them. They were cute together. And I was happy for Ginny, she'd had a major crush on Harry for years after all. I felt dread in my stomach as my mind wandered back to Ron and his anger towards me right now. I knew I should talk to him and try to make him understand, try to make him see that I did care about him and what he thought.

I stood up and straitened my shorts. "I need to talk to Ron." I said. "What room is he in, Harry?"

He swallowed and looked up at me, nervously. "Hermione, I don't think that's a good idea. I think you should leave-"

"Harry, the room." I interrupted and sighed.

Harry glanced at Ginny who shrugged. "302" He said.

"Thanks." I breathed and headed to the door.

"Hermione?"

I turned around.

"He's just worried about you." Ginny said.

I smiled weakly and nodded. I knew. I knew Ron was worried about me. I loved him so much for it, but I needed him to understand that he shouldn't be and that Draco was different and that I would still be there for him.

Walking down the hall, I went over what I was going to say to him in my mind. I would tell him that I was sorry I didn't tell him. And that I was wrong for getting mad at him. And that I cared very much about what he thought.

I got to his door and rapped lightly at it. There was a shuffling from inside and then silence.

I sighed. Was he really going to be immature enough to give me the silent treatment? _Calm down Hermione._ I thought.

"Ron?" I called out.

"Hermione, I'm not in the mood." His muffled voice floated from beyond the door.

"Please Ron? I just want to talk."

Silence.

Looking around, I took out my wand. "Alohamora." I pointed it at the knob and heard the lock unlatch.

"Ron?"

More silence.

I pushed the door so it would lightly swing open. I stepped inside to find Ron hunched over on the bed with his face in his hands.

_Please don't be crying._ I thought. He looked up at me with his eyes bloodshot and the skin red and moist. Now I wanted to cry. Ron's not supposed to cry!

I sat down next to him awkwardly. "Ron, I-"

"I'm not mad at you Hermione." He whispered. "I'm just... hurt."

I opened my mouth to say something, but then closed it because I wasn't sure what I wanted to say.

"I'm upset about you and Malfoy, and I just wish you would have told us where you were going. Do you realize how worried I was when Harry told me? I couldn't sleep the entire time we were looking for you. I felt so relieved when we found you and you were okay. And then I saw you with Malfoy and I wasn't so sure you were okay again." He looked at me with his big sad eyes.

"Ron, I'm so sorry." I said, tears leaking from my eyes again. "I should have told you. I'm sorry." I place my hand on his shoulder and then he was wrapping his arms around me in a crushing hug.

"Just promise me that you won't do that again." He said.

I nodded. "I promise."

"And promise me that you will be careful."

I wasn't sure if he was talking about Draco and I or the Deatheaters or everything but I nodded again. "Promise."

"Your like my family 'Mione. So I will crusio that slimy git's throat if you does anything to hurt you."

I chuckled. "Thank you."


	20. Sisterly Love

**Sisterly Love**

I gaped as I watched my parents from across the street. They were inside their house and the sun was beginning to set. I watched my mother through the window as she plugged in the lights on the evergreen tree in the living area and my father gathered up the news paper on the coffee table. I smiled as he walked over to my mother and wrapped his arms around her waist and they both looked at the shiny tree.

Tears of joy sprang to my eyes while I watched them. It was like nothing had changed. Yes, mother had cut her hair a little shorter and perhaps my father had a few more strands of grey in his, but they looked just like they did the day I had taken their memories. And today I was going to give them back. Finally, after four years of agony, they would recognize me as their daughter.

Draco squeezed my hand as I wiped a tear from my cheek and Ginny put a friendly hand on my shoulder. I stood up strait and cleared my throat. I could do this. My hands started to shake as I remembered that Draco had said they'd gotten their memories wiped again after witnessing a wizard fight and I suddenly felt so afraid that the counter spell wouldn't work.

"What's the matter, Love?" Draco asked, squeezing my hand again and rubbing his thumb gently on the back of my hand.

I looked up into his stormy eyes. "I'm just nervous." I said.

He smiled and nodded. "It will be okay."

"I'm worried the spell won't work." I confessed.

"'Mione, Your the smartest witch I know." Harry said. "It will work."

I smiled at him and hoped he was right.

"Ready?" Ginny asked.

No. I wasn't ready. And yes, I was, more than anything I was. But I wasn't. I couldn't. I could. Maybe. Would I ever really be ready?

I nodded and pressed my shaking hand against my pocket where I could feel my wand.

"We can go with you if you want." Ron said.

"I think I better do this alone." I smiled wearily at him.

He nodded and I let go of Draco's hand before stepping onto the pavement. With my stomach in knots, I kept my eyes on my parents through the window as I crossed the street and headed up the cement walkway. My eyes traveled to the lights that were strung across the front of the house and to the cardboard snowmen that were standing in the yard. I couldn't believe that tomorrow was Christmas already. It seemed like just yesterday that I was bumping into Malfoy in the cafe back in London.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then I knocked on the door. It sounded so loud against the quiet night, like a loud drum marking a victory at the end of a brutal war, and in a way it was. I heard heavy footsteps draw nearer and pretty soon the door was swinging open and my father's confused face was poking out from behind it.

"Yes?" He said and my heart ached at that voice I'd missed so much.

"Um..." I really hadn't thought about what I was going to say. I needed to get them together, so I could do it all at once. I need to get in their house. "Um.." I shook my head. What was I going to say? Perhaps if I could just get them both at the door...

My father frowned at me. "Is there something I can help you with?" He asked impatiently.

"Do you mind if I speak with your wife?" I asked quickly.

"My wife? I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm a friend of hers from awhile ago." I said, not sure if this was going to get me anywhere.

"Wait." He said, and a flash of recognition passed over his face. "Are you one of Henrietta's friends?"

I hadn't the foggiest who Henrietta was, but if it would allow me to see my mother, then I was definitely one of her friends. "Yes!" I said, a little too excitedly.

"I'll get her, just a moment." He retreated back into the house and shut the door to my disappointment. I was hoping he would simply call for my mother and they would both stand in the doorway to talk to me.

I looked tentatively behind me where I could just make out Draco and Analiza's form as they both were propped against the tree across the street and Harry, Ron, and Ginny were underneath the invisibility cloak. No doubt Ron had refused to let Draco under with them and Harry seemed not to care too much for Analiza.

Then the door opened and a girl just around my age with long blond hair bounced out of it. "Jackie I-" She started to exclaim and then stopped when she noticed that I was indeed not 'Jackie'. She looked at me just as confused as I looked at her.

This was not my mother! Who was this girl and what was she doing in my parent's house?! "Who are you?!" I practically shouted.

"I am Henrietta. Who are you?" She asked furiously.

I looked at her, dumbfounded. I almost couldn't find my words. I looked back over my shoulder to see Draco on his feet and that Ginny, Harry, and Ron had taken off the invisibility cloak. "Do you... do you live here?" I whispered. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes as I formed an assumption about who this girl was.

"Yes." She huffed. "Who are you?" She asked again.

"I... I'm..." I couldn't talk. I couldn't force the words out of my mouth. I was so confused and flustered and excited and angry all at the same time. It was too much. I put my face in my hands and let the tears leak between my fingers. This was not how it was suppose to go!

Then, before anything else could happen, Ginny was there. "What's going on?" She asked the girl accusingly.

The girl crossed her arms. "That's what I want to know!" She yelled back "Who are you people?"

Analiza had come up behind Ginny, quickly followed by Harry, Ron, and Draco.

"Who are _you_?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes at the girl.

"I'm Henrietta!" She shrieked. "I live here! Those are my parents!"

"What?!" Analiza exclaimed. "Hermione, you didn't tell me you had a sister!"

"I am _not_ her sister!" Henrietta huffed.

I rubbed my eyes and looked up at her. She looked angry and confused and perhaps a little scared. "Actually." I said, not quite sure how to say it. "It appears you are."

"WHAT?!" They all seemed to exclaim at once.

"Okay!" Henrietta laughed. "I don't know who any of you are, so..." She started to head back inside. "This was really funny, don't do it again."

"Wait a second." Harry reached out and grabbed her arm before she could back away inside.

"Get off me!" She flailed her arm to get it out of Harry's grip, but he held firm.

"Your not going anywhere until we get some answers!" He said and pulled her away from the door.

It was odd seeing Harry being so forceful like this, but he was as angry and confused as Ginny and I, and that wasn't something you wanted a Gryffindor to be, especially when there were two others.

"I don't know anything!" She said, struggling to break Harry's grip. He walked her over the bench in their yard and the rest of us followed. He pushed her down so that she was sitting and the rest of us could be more intimidating above her.

"Harry," I said to him. "I just want to return my parents' memories. We can figure everything else out later."

"Do you know who this is?" He asked.

"I might." I bit my lip.

"Hermione, you said she was your sister." Ginny said.

I just wanted my parents! "I think she is." I said, studying the confused blond on the bench.

"You _think_ she is?" Ron asked. "How do you not know?"

"Henrietta?" I said looking at the girl. "Were you adopted?"

She looked like she was about to burst with anger. "That's none of your bloody concern!" She shrieked.

Her yelling must have been loud enough to alarm my parents because my mother and father both were at the door in no time.

"What's going on?!" My father bellowed at the seven of us.

I nearly choked at seeing them both so close. I could just run up and touch them if I wanted to.

"Hermione, do it now." Draco whispered to me.

I swallowed and took out my wand. I raised it at my parents angry faces in the door way.

"What are you doing?" My mother asked.

Before anyone could say anymore, gold sparks shot from the end of my wand and floated around my parents and into their ears. Their faces changed from anger to confusion. I felt for Draco's hand and laced my fingers around his. This was it. My parents would be my parents again.

Then the sparks were gone and there was silence. I realized I was squeezing Draco's hand very tightly, but I didn't let up. My parents stood with a look of complete shock on their faces.

It was completely and utterly silent.

Then my mother broke the silence. "Hermione?"

* * *

**A/N: ** So, I think I'm going to start putting the a/n at the bottom now because I feel like people don't read it when it's at the top.

I was kind of debating whether or not to put in the this chapter or a different version, but if you absolutely hate this one let me know in the reviews and I'll replace it with the other version. (Not going to tell you what the other version was, so don't ask :) )

Sorry for taking longer than I normally do to post this chapter, but if you read the a/n from previous chapters, you might know that I have begun some work on my own novel. That does not mean I will be abandoning this story, I fully intend to keep it going. PM me with any concerns. Speaking of keeping it going, we are almost to the end of Searching my friends! I plan on writing an epilogue unless I finish the last chapter and everyone thinks that should just be the end. I'll remind you to let me know when the last chapter is posted.

Had some pretty amazing reviews for last chapter! You guys don't even know how it makes my day when I wake up and see all the wonderful reviews! Please keep them coming!

One more thing, I am very interested in hearing about how you found this story. Were you just browsing? Were you visiting someone else's profile? I'd love to know! Please tell me in the reviews!

With love,

Wren Gebel


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